Delivery and management of status notifications for group messaging

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods are provided for managing and delivering status notifications relating to multicast messages transmitted from a sending communication device to multiple recipient communication devices. Each communication device is provided with a status agent for detecting transmission of messages to a recipient device and receipt of messages from a sending device. Upon transmission, the status agent notifies a status service of the outbound message. Upon receipt of the multicast message by one of the recipients or upon the message being marked read, the recipient status agent notifies the status service. The status service then notifies the status agent of the sending device that the message has been received or read by that recipient, so that the sending device&#39;s status agent can notify a corresponding messaging application. The status service operates to reconcile outbound message notifications and received or read status updates for multicast messages.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/430,460, filed 6 Jan. 2011, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

1. Technical Field

The present disclosure relates generally to management and delivery of electronic message status information.

2. Description of the Related Art

Messages can be transmitted, received or stored in a variety of electronic formats, including without limitation email, instant or private messages (both network-based and peer-to-peer), SMS (Short Message Service), MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service), VVM (Visual Voicemail), voicemail, and the like. Messages may be transmitted using store-and-forward or real-time systems. Several of these message formats, whether by virtue of message size or transmission protocol, can be quickly delivered to recipients and thus used to provide reasonably timely information and responses, even if relayed using a store-and-forward system. Since participants in electronic communications typically communicate with other participants in remote locations, the immediacy and context of an in-person conversation, such as the implicit knowledge that the other participants in the conversation have heard or received the speaker's communication, may be lost. This disadvantage can be exacerbated when multiple users are participating in an electronic message “conversation”. User experience with any type of electronic message may be improved by enhancing the apparent immediacy of the communication and augmenting the contextual information available to the participants.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In drawings which illustrate by way of example only embodiments of the present disclosure,

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a network topology for use in communicating status information between mobile communication devices.

FIGS. 2A to 2D are illustrations of graphical user interfaces presented on a communication device screen for a chat or instant messaging application.

FIG. 3A is a schematic diagram of select components of a communication device for use with the network of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3B is a schematic diagram of a status service for use with the network of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a communication diagram illustrating message and notification flow between various components of the network of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating a network topology for use in communicating status information between two mobile communication devices.

FIG. 6A is a schematic diagram illustrating a network topology for use in communicating status information between a mobile communication device and an online service.

FIG. 6B is a communication diagram illustrating message and notification flow between various components of the network of FIG. 6A.

FIG. 7A is a schematic diagram illustrating a network topology for use in communicating status information between an online service and a mobile communication device.

FIG. 7B is a communication diagram illustrating message and notification flow between various components of the network of FIG. 7A.

FIGS. 8A and 8B are further illustrations of graphical user interfaces presented on a communication device screen for a chat or instant messaging application.

FIGS. 8C and 8D are illustrations of graphical user interfaces presented on a communication device screen for an email application.

FIGS. 8E and 8F are illustrations of graphical user interfaces presented on a communication device screen for a unified message box.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a process for transmission and receipt of a message and related status information implemented at a communication device.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a process for transmission and receipt of a message notification and related status information implemented at a status service.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating a further process for managing status information at a status service.

FIG. 12 is a further flowchart illustrating a process for transmission and receipt of status information for a message implemented at a communication device.

FIG. 13A is a schematic diagram illustrating a network topology for use in communicating status information among several communication devices.

FIG. 13B is an illustration of a graphical user interface presented on a communication device screen for a group chat or instant messaging application.

FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram illustrating communication of status information in the network of FIG. 13A.

FIG. 15A is a schematic diagram illustrating further communication of status information in the network of FIG. 13A.

FIG. 15B is a further illustration of a graphical user interface presented on a communication device screen for a group chat or instant messaging application reflecting the communication of status information of FIG. 15A.

FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram illustrating further communication of status information in the network of FIG. 13A.

FIG. 17A is another schematic diagram illustrating further communication of status information in the network of FIG. 13A.

FIG. 17B is a further illustration of a graphical user interface presented on a communication device screen for a group chat or instant messaging application reflecting the communication of status information of FIG. 17A.

FIG. 18A is further schematic diagram illustrating communication of status information in the network of FIG. 13A.

FIGS. 18B and 18C are further illustrations of a graphical user interface presented on a communication device screen for a group chat or instant messaging application reflecting the communication of status information of FIG. 18A for each of two communication devices.

FIG. 19 is an illustration of a calendar event graphical user interface presented on a communication device screen.

FIG. 20A is a schematic diagram illustrating communication of a calendar invitation response in the network of FIG. 13A.

FIG. 20B is a further illustration of the calendar event graphical user interface presented on a communication device screen after the communication of FIG. 20A.

FIG. 21A is a schematic diagram illustrating communication of a further calendar invitation response in the network of FIG. 13A.

FIG. 21B illustrates communication flow between the various components of the network of FIG. 13A reflecting the communication of a calendar invitation response and status information.

FIG. 22 is a flowchart illustrating a process for displaying information in a calendar graphical user interface.

FIG. 23 is a further illustration of the calendar event graphical user interface of FIG. 21.

FIG. 24 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a mobile device.

FIG. 25 is a schematic diagram of an example network topology for use with the mobile device of FIG. 24.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The embodiments described herein provide a computing or communication device, service and method providing enhancements to existing messaging infrastructures and systems to improve user experience in electronic messaging by enhancing the apparent immediacy of electronic communication, and by augmenting the contextual information available to the participants in the electronic communication. In particular, the embodiments herein provide for enhancements to the communication of group messaging, which may be implemented in multicast, broadcast, or other suitable messaging modules. These embodiments will be described and illustrated primarily in relation to communication devices, such as wireless communication devices, communicating over wireless networks and public networks. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, however, that this description is not intended to limit the scope of the described embodiments to implementation on these particular systems or to wireless devices. For example, the methods and systems described herein may be applied to any appropriate communication device or data processing device adapted to communicate with another communication or data processing device over a fixed or wireless connection, whether portable or wirelessly enabled or not, whether provided with voice communication capabilities or not, and additionally or alternatively adapted to process data and carry out operations on data in response to user commands for any number of purposes, including productivity and entertainment. Thus, the embodiments described herein may be implemented on computing devices adapted for communication or messaging, including without limitation cellular phones, smartphones, wireless organizers, personal digital assistants, desktop computers, terminals, laptops, tablets, handheld wireless communication devices, notebook computers, entertainment devices such as MP3 or video players, and the like. Unless expressly stated, a computing or communication device may include any such device.

The embodiments herein will be described and illustrated primarily in relation to instant messages and email. However, it will also be appreciated by those skilled in the art that these embodiments extend to other types and formats of messages adaptable for multicast, broadcast, or other group communication, including without limitation private messages, SMS (Short Message Service), MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service), VVM (Visual Voicemail), voicemail, and the like. The formatting and transmission of all such messages, and the implementation of suitable messaging infrastructures to support such communications, will be known to those skilled in the art.

For example, email messages and services may be constructed and implemented in accordance with known Internet messaging standards including Internet Message Format RFC 5322 and RFC 2822, published by the Internet Engineering Task Force, as well as their predecessor, successor, and companion standards. Instant messages include network-based and peer-to-peer messages, and such messages and services may be defined in accordance with known standards such as RFC 2779 and RFC 3921 also published by the Internet Engineering Task Force, and their companion, predecessor and successor standards. Point-to-point SMS messages may be implemented in accordance with 3GPP (3^(rd) Generation Partnership Product) Technical Specification 03.40, and optionally extended for transmission of MMS messages as specified by the Open Mobile Alliance Multimedia Messaging Service V1.3, and their companion, predecessor and successor standards. All such messages and services intended for use with the within embodiments may also be defined in accordance with proprietary standards and protocols. Messages may be defined, formatted, and presented using messaging applications implemented on user devices such as the communication devices described above. Such messages are also identifiable by a unique or quasi-unique handle or identifier (ID), implemented within the message format in a suitable location, for example in the header of the message. Messages may be interrelated, for example associated by cross-referencing identifiers, thread identifiers, subject line, or the like. Whether interrelated or not, messages exchanged between a given set of participants (senders and recipients, or originating and recipient or destination devices) may be presented by messaging applications in a conversational paradigm, chronological order, or reverse chronological order, or in any other suitable presentation form or order.

The messages contemplated herein also include other user-generated or computer-generated entities transmitted to recipient communication devices via other types of communication applications or services, such as social applications, data and news feeds, content aggregators, and other utilities. Such entities can include messages or other content transmitted from a sender to one or more recipients for receipt at their respective communication devices in a collaborative or groupware environment. For ease of reference, the embodiments herein are described primarily with reference to messages such as email and instant messages but are not intended to be exclusive of other message types.

The various forms of electronic messages mentioned above generally lack the immediacy and context of an in-person conversation, given that the sender and recipients of a message are usually, although not always, physically separated from each other. Because of the separation, the sender cannot know, without further express information from the recipient, whether one or more of the recipients has received the message. Each recipient cannot know without express feedback from the sender that the sender is aware that the recipient has received the message. Similarly, even if the sender knows the message was received, he or she cannot know without express information from each recipient whether that recipient has read, viewed, heard, or otherwise consumed the message. Confirmation that a recipient has read or received a message may be inferred if the recipient actually responds to the message or its contents in a subsequent message, but there may be a delay between the time the recipient reads a message and responds to it. If the information contained in the message is time-sensitive (for example, if it pertains to an upcoming meeting and the recipient's acknowledgement is required), waiting for a recipient to reply to confirm that the message has been read may be particularly inconvenient. Further, waiting for the recipient's reply may pre-empt the sender from taking some other action in a timely manner, such as conveying the necessary information to the recipient by an alternate means, or inviting another person to the upcoming meeting in view of the recipient's non-reply.

Requiring an express response from a recipient confirming that the message was received or read places additional burden on the messaging infrastructure used to deliver the messages between the sender and each recipient, since for each message sent, the messaging infrastructure must transmit at least one further message relating to the delivery or reading of the message for receipt by the sender's client messaging application. Such delivery notifications and read receipts thus impose a greater burden on the sender's client messaging application and the sender's communication device, which must receive and process the further messages. Conventional message delivery notifications and read receipts in email, for example, are delivered by email to the sender's client email application. Such conventional notifications therefore must be processed by the sender's client email application, either by displaying the received notification or receipt to the user or by correlating the received notification or receipt to a sent message in the user's sent email store.

Further, conventional message delivery notifications and read receipts, given that they are formatted and transmitted using the same transport as the original message, are potentially subject to the same delivery delays and constraints as the original message. This potentially impacts the timeliness with which notifications and receipts are delivered to the sender and detracts from the communication experience with the recipient; without knowledge that the recipient has read an initial message, the sender may be led to compose a follow-up message that would have been deemed unnecessary had the sender known the recipient had read the initial message.

In addition, conventional email message delivery notifications and read receipts often must be requested by the sender (through flags or values set in the outbound message header), and those requests are just as often ignored by the recipient's client messaging application, which may not be configured to process the header flag, or by the recipient, who may expressly instruct his or her client messaging application not to transmit a read receipt message.

Accordingly, a system such as that illustrated in the accompanying drawings may be implemented to provide a parallel mechanism for providing message delivery and read status updates to client messaging applications. FIG. 1 illustrates a simplified network topology for communicating between two mobile communication devices 100, 1000. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that a number of components, such as wireless networks and gateways and the like, are omitted simply for clarity of presentation in the accompanying figures. In FIG. 1, a message M is transmitted from the sender at the originating communication device 100 to the recipient at the destination or receiving communication device 1000 using a messaging service, not illustrated. The message M is shown as being delivered via a messaging infrastructure 50 supporting the messaging service. The messaging infrastructure may be any suitable infrastructure known in the art for transporting any of the above-mentioned message formats and can include both software and hardware components. The messaging infrastructure 50, for example, may be implemented using public data networks and/or public switched telephone networks. The network components used to facilitate communications between the communication devices 100, 1000 and between the devices 100, 1000, push service 70 and the status service 150 described below may be integrated with components of or supporting the messaging infrastructure 50, or alternatively may be separate from the messaging infrastructure 50.

When the message M is transmitted from the originating device 100, a notification 110 indicating that the message M was transmitted from the originating device 100 is also transmitted from the originating device 100 to the status service 150. The status service 150 is typically located remotely from the communication devices 100, 1000 and may be accessible over a public wide-area network such as the Internet. The status service 150 receives and stores the notification.

After receipt of the message M at the receiving device 1000, at least one status notification is transmitted from the receiving device 1000 to the status service 150. A first status notification 120 can indicate that the message was received by the receiving device 1000 (i.e., “delivered” to the receiving device 1000). A second status notification 130 can indicate that the message was read at the receiving device 1000, that is to say, it was displayed or otherwise rendered and presented for user consumption (for example, rendered as an audio file or by a text-to-speech module operating at or in cooperation with the receiving device 1000).

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that by referring to a message as “read”, it is meant that the message was either accessed or rendered such that it was presented in a manner enabling a user to peruse or review at least a portion of the message content not displayable or otherwise perceivable in a simple message listing, inbox listing, or message preview window or display. Thus, a “read” message is not restricted to actual user consumption or comprehension of the message; a message may be appropriately considered to be “read” when the message is opened in a messaging application, even if a user did not look at or listen to the message. Further, a message received at a communication device may be marked “read” in response to an express instruction received at the device, even if it was not rendered as described above. A message that is “unread” is one that has not been “read” or marked “read”. A synonym for “read” in this context, as would be well understood by the person skilled in the art, is “opened”, and a synonym for “unread” is “unopened”. In some embodiments, the display of a message in whole or in part in a message preview view may not constitute the message being “read”, but only “delivered”, depending on system configuration.

Each of these notifications 120, 130 may be delivered consecutively to the status service 150, or as part of the same notification message if detection that the message was read occurred prior to transmission of the first status notification 120. Upon receipt of one or more of the status notifications 120, 130, the status service 150 transmits a corresponding status update 125, 135 to the originating device 100. Upon receipt of the first status notification 120, for example, the status service 150 transmits a status update 125 indicating that the message M was delivered. Upon receipt of the second status notification 130, the status service 150 transmits a status update 135 indicating that the message M was read. Thus, the originating device 100 receives updated information concerning the status of the message M.

In these embodiments, the status updates transmitted from the status service 150 to the originating device 100 are advantageously transmitted via a push service 70. The push service 70 provides the status updates 125, 135 effectively in real time. When the status service 150 receives a status notification 120, 130 from the receiving device 1000, the status service 150 transmits a push request (not shown) comprising a status update to be transmitted to the originating device 100 to the push service 70. The push service 70 acknowledges the request and transmits the data to the originating device 100. The originating device 10 can then transmit a response to the push service 70 acknowledging the pushed data. Confirmation that the status update was received by the originating device 100 may then be provided by the push service 70 to the status service 150. While the push service 70 is omitted in the following figures portraying network configurations and data flow, it will be appreciated that a similar service can be implemented to deliver content to the various communication devices in all of the embodiments described herein. Further, in some embodiments the push service 70 or a similar service can also be used to transmit messages to the communication devices 100, 1000 although not explicitly illustrated herein.

The various status updates 125, 135 received at the originating device 100 may be used in a client messaging application to denote whether a message transmitted from the device has been received or read by the recipient. Turning to FIG. 2A, an example graphical user interface for a chat or instant messaging program, displayed in a communication device (in this case, the originating communication device 100), is shown. The interface 200 a displays a number of messages 202 . . . 210, here arranged in chronological order illustrating a conversational paradigm. In FIG. 2A, messages transmitted from the originating device 100 are positioned at the right-hand side of the user interface (i.e., messages 204 . . . 210). Each of the messages 204, 206, 208 is displayed with a corresponding “message read” badge or icon 220. Typically, a visual indicator of message status is provided, although other means of indicating the message status may be used, such as audible, vibratory, or tactile indicators. The “message read” icon 220 displayed for these messages indicates that the communication device 100 has received a status update indicating that messages 204, 206, 208 had been read was received from the status service 150, via the push service 70. The originating device 100 may have previously received status updates from the status service 150 indicating that the messages 204, 206, 208 had been delivered, but in this example the user interface is configured to indicate only the most recent status update. The most recently received status for a given message is given precedent over previously received status information.

The final message 210 is shown with an optional “message sent” icon 222, which in this example denotes that the message has been sent from the originating device 100, but no status update has been received indicating that the message was delivered to the destination address or read at the receiving device 1000.

Turning to FIG. 2B, a further graphical user interface 200 b for the same application is shown. In this illustration, a further status update for the message 210 was received at the communication device 100 (for example, the status update 125 of FIG. 1), indicating that the message 210 was received at the receiving device 1000. Thus, in the user interface 200 b the final message 210 is marked with a “message delivered” icon 224.

FIG. 2C illustrates yet a further graphical user interface 200 c. By this point, the status service 150 has transmitted a further status update in respect of the final message 210 (for example, the status update 135 of FIG. 1), indicating that the message has been read at the receiving device 1000. Thus, the icon displayed with the message 210 has been updated to a “message read” icon 226.

As mentioned above, status updates 125, 135 may be received concurrently rather than consecutively. In some embodiments, the device 100 may infer a status for a previously transmitted message in view of subsequent events. For example, the message 210 may still have the status of “sent” or “delivered” as in FIG. 2A or 2B when a further instant message in the conversation 212, shown in FIG. 2D, is received before a status update indicating that the message 210 was read at the receiving device 1000. It can be inferred that composition and transmission of a later message at the receiving device 1000 indicates that the last message received at the receiving device 1000, namely the message 210, had been read. Thus, even if the status service 150 has not yet provided a “read” status update to the originating device 100 in respect of the message 210, upon receipt of the new message 212 the client messaging application at the originating device 100 can effectively override the last received status of the message 210 with an inferred status and display a “message read” icon 226.

To implement the foregoing system of status updates and notifications described in relation to FIG. 1, the communication devices 100, 1000 participating in the exchange of messages are provided with an application or module for providing message status management, here depicted as a status agent 310. As shown in FIG. 3A, which illustrates select components or modules of the communication device 100, 1000, the status agent 310 is provided with a status data store 315, and interfaces with one or more applications executable on the device 100, 1000, such as one or more messaging applications 320, each of which is associated with a corresponding message store 325; one or more contact (address book) applications 330, provided with a corresponding contact data store 335; one or more social applications 340, provided with a corresponding data store 345; and one or more collaborative applications 350, provided with a corresponding data store 355. As understood by those skilled in the art, the various messaging applications 320 may be associated with user accounts provided by one or more messaging services; for example, each user account provisioned on the device 100, 1000 may be associated with a distinct messaging application 320, or multiple user accounts may be associated with the same messaging application 320. The messaging application 320 can also include a unified message box application or function that provides a unified view of message or other content information associated with multiple user accounts or message types, and which serves as an entry point for access to other messaging services or applications executable on the device 100, 1000. The “unified message box” may also be known as a “unified inbox”; however, a unified message box in particular may contain inbound messages, outbound messages, or a combination thereof.

The status agent 310 interoperates with one or more of the foregoing types of applications 320, 330, 340, 350 and functions as an interface or proxy with the status service 150 to provide notification and status management services. Access to the status agent may be provided through an API (application programming interface). For client applications that make use of messaging functions, such as client messaging applications 320, social networking applications 340, and collaborative applications 350, the status agent 310 provides notifications to the status service 150 of outbound messages transmitted from the originating device 100, and receives status update notifications from the status service 150 regarding the status of the outbound messages as received by the recipient device 1000, via the communications module implemented on the device 100 (for example, via a wireless transceiver module, not shown in FIG. 3A).

The status agent 310 also provides updated status information for client applications that consume received status information. For client applications 320, 340, 350, the status agent 310 can provide updated status information corresponding to the outbound messages originated from those client applications. Other client applications that do not originate outbound messages may still consume status information, such as the contacts (address book) application 330. For example, the contacts application may use status update information, which can be associated with a recipient addresses, to indicate the potential availability of contacts corresponding to the recipient addresses. If the most recently received status information for a given recipient address is that the recipient has read an outbound message within a recent period, then the contacts application may indicate that the recipient is “available”. If the most recently received status information is only that the outbound message has been delivered, then the contacts application may indicate that the recipient is likely unavailable. Similar availability indications may also be implemented by the other applications 320, 340, 350.

The status agent 310 also detects changes to inbound messages queues at the device 100, 1000, and reports detected changes to the status service 150. When an incoming message for one of the client applications 320, 340, 350 is detected as having been received by the status agent 310, the status agent 310 issues a status update notification to the status service 150 to indicate that the message was received. Similarly, when the status agent 310 detects that the incoming message has been read, the status agent 310 again notifies the status service 150 that the message has now been read.

The status agent 310 may included within the device 100, 1000's operating system, or provided as a separate application. Generally, since the status agent 310 can operate without direct user interaction, it executes as a background process or processes on the device 100, 1000. In the primary embodiments described herein, the status service 150 provides its status updates to the devices 100, 1000 using a push service 70; accordingly, the status agent 310 on each participating communication device is push-enabled, and configured to listen for push content comprising status updates at a designated port of the device 100, 1000.

Each application 320, 340, 350 that originates outbound messages can invoke the agent 310 to track each outbound message transmitted by the application, for example implementing and providing a callback handler or a defined interface to the agent 310. Alternatively, each application 320, 340, 350 that is configured to originate outbound messages may initially register with the status agent 310 and identify its outbound message queue (not shown) for monitoring by the status agent 310. Additionally, each application 320, 330, 340, 350 that consumes status update information received by the status agent 310 from the service 150 can either receive notifications from the agent 310, or alternatively may monitor an incoming status notification queue (not shown) for incoming status updates relevant to the application 320, 330, 340, 350.

Further, to detect the receipt of incoming messages, the status agent 310 may be configured to monitor the incoming message queues for each application 320, 340, 350 registered with the agent 310, or alternatively the status agent 310 may wait for each application to issue a notification of message receipt. To detect when incoming messages have been read using a given application, the status agent 310 may monitor the application's data store for changes to message status; for example, when a message is read, a messaging application may set a flag associated with the message in the message store to indicate the message has been read. Each application 320, 340, 350 may alternatively maintain a status indicator queue or file comprising recent status updates for received messages that can be monitored by the status agent 310.

FIG. 3B illustrates a possible implementation of the status service 350. The status service 150 is typically implemented on a server system, and includes a status data store 370 for storing message ID information and related status information, as discussed below. A communication interface 360, which may be integrated in the server system, extracts data from the status data store 370 for provision to the push service 70 (not illustrated in FIG. 3B). The push service 70 may be operated by a third party or implemented separately from the status service 150, although the status service 150 may comprise the push service 70 in some embodiments. The communication interface 360 also receives status notifications from various devices 100, 1000 for storage in the status data store 370. Access to the status service 150 by the agent 310 and by other services, described below, may be provided through a web API or another web service interface supporting REpresentational State Transfer-based communications, although other non-RESTful web service architectures such as service-oriented architectures and remote procedure call web services may be implemented instead. Optionally, the status service 150 is provided with additional components or modules 362 . . . 268, such as a subscription manager 362 for managing the subscription of individual communication devices 100, 1000 and their respective agents 310 to the status service 150, an acknowledgement module for managing acknowledgment messages sent between the status service 150 and the push service 70, a reconciliation module 366 for reconciling received status notifications from receiving devices 1000 with outbound message notifications received from sending devices 100, and a push module 368 for generating, receiving and processing push messages sent to or received from the push service 70.

As a preliminary step before status notifications are transmitted or received, an initial registration of the status agent 310 with the status service 150 may be required. Registration is carried out to provide the status service 150 with a valid address for each device for receiving status update messages. If access to the status service is restricted, then registration may also be required to validate the devices 100, 1000 and their corresponding status agents 310 as valid clients of the status service. This initial registration may take place upon initial provisioning of the device 100, 1000 for wireless communication or for messaging using the messaging infrastructure 50. Alternatively, the registration may take place after initial provisioning, when the user of the device 100, 1000 subscribes to the messaging service supported by the messaging infrastructure 50 or installs a client application 320, 330, 340, 350 that will make use of status notifications, or when the agent 310 is installed or initialized.

The registration may simply comprise the device 100, 1000 transmitting a subscription message to the status service 150 containing a userid or other identifier for the device 100, 1000, and/or the status agent 310; an optional password; and a unique address for receiving push messages. The subscription message is received by the status service 150 and processed by the subscription module to verify the subscription. Subsequently, when the status service 150 generates a status update to be delivered to the registered device 100, 1000, the status service 150 can provide the unique address together with the status update to the push service 70. Additionally, the push service 70, if it is external to the status service 150, may require registration of the status service 150 and the status agent 310. Configuring the push service 70 and registering applications and services with the push service 70 will be known to those skilled in the art.

It will also be appreciated that status updates may be transmitted to the devices 100, 1000 in response to a request transmitted from a device, rather than by the status service 150 pushing the status update to the device. If such a pull methodology is implemented, the status agent 310 can periodically poll the status service 150 for any new status updates. However, pushing the status updates to the communication device 100, 1000 does provide the advantage of having new delivered and read notifications transmitted to the device in a timelier manner, since the status service 150 need not wait for the device to request status updates.

An example of communication flow between the originating and receiving devices 100, 1000, a client application 320 o, the status service 150, and messaging infrastructure 50 is illustrated in FIG. 4. The communication flow represented in FIG. 4 is simplified as the push service 70 is not illustrated, but the node representing the status service 150 in FIG. 4 may be considered to include the push service 70 used to transmit status notifications and receive acknowledgements. A client application 320 o at the originating device 100, in this example a messaging application, prepares a message for transmission from the device 100. This message may comprise any one of the types of messages described above, such as email, instant messages, SMS, MMS, and the like. The message may be generated automatically by the client application based on user-input data and/or contextual or device information (for example, the client application may automatically generate messages indicating the current location of the device user based on a current location of the device 100, for transmission to a predefined recipient or recipients). The client application 320 o assigns or generates a unique or quasi-unique message identifier (ID) or handle for the message. The message ID is advantageously sufficiently distinctive so as to permit the message to be uniquely identified at the status service 150, or by either of the status agents 310 o, 310 r at the originating and receiving devices. For example, if the message ID is not inherently sufficiently distinctive, it may be generated using a numeric string representing a current timestamp or concatenated with the current timestamp or an application identifier identifying the client application 320, 340, 350 generating the message. The message ID is incorporated into the message, for example in a message header or envelope. While the entire message ID may be typically included in the message, in some embodiments only a portion of the ID is included, although as noted above, a sufficiently distinct portion of the ID is used. The message may include some redundancy to ensure the integrity of the message ID. For example, a checksum computed from the message ID may be included in the message.

The message ID may include any suitable identifier generated and inserted or appended into the message in accordance with any applicable message standard used for that message format, such as the message-ID value defined in RFC 5322. For an SMS message, the message ID may be the message reference value, optionally concatenated or otherwise combined with additional data contained in the message. In a concatenated SMS message, the message ID can be the CSMS reference number contained in the user data header as defined in the SMS Point to Point Specification, 3GPP TS 23.040. In other embodiments, where the message reference values inherent in the applicable message protocol do not yield a sufficiently unique ID value, the message payload (i.e., the content of the message) or a concatenation of predetermined portions of the message, and even the entire message itself, may be used to define the message ID. For example, the message ID could be computed from a hash of the message header and content, or as a concatenation of the sender identity (e.g., the sender's email address or other identifier associated with the message) and another value within the message. If the data entity being transmitted from the device 100 is not a standards-defined message but in another format, such as data feed content or a file for use with a collaborative or groupware application 350, the message ID may be defined in a custom header or property accompanying the entity. However the message ID is defined or generated, the same message ID value is independently locatable within the received message at the receiving device 1000, or else is independently derivable from the message itself at the receiving device 1000.

The message is transmitted for delivery 405 to the recipient via the messaging structure 50 and messaging service, using the device's communication subsystem generally as known in the art. Typically, an acknowledgement 410 is provided to the device 100 from a component of the messaging infrastructure 50, such as a message server associated with the sending device 100, to confirm receipt of the message for relay to the recipient. This acknowledgement 410 thus does not indicate that the message was either received or read by the recipient. The message, as transmitted, includes the message ID as described above.

The status agent 310 o on the originating device 100 is then notified of the outbound message. This notification may be implemented either by the client application 320 o providing express notification of the outbound message 415 to the status agent 310 o, or by the status agent 310 o listening on the client application's outbound message queue for new messages, indicated at 415 a. An express notification 415 comprises at least the message ID included in the message as transmitted or as derived from the message as transmitted, and optionally additional identifying information such as a message type identifier indicating the type of message sent (e.g., email, IM, SMS, etc.), a message timestamp, a client application identifier (which may include a callback identifier), or other metadata such as the recipient's address or other identifier. If the status agent 310 o monitors the client application's outbound message queue, then the status agent 310 o retrieves the message ID and any additional identifying information from the queue or from the application's corresponding data store. The status agent 310 o stores the message ID and any other identifying information in the status data store 315. In FIG. 4, the notification 415 is shown without a paired acknowledgement or response transmitted from the status agent 310 o to the client application 320 o, but the status agent 310 o may provide such a response to confirm receipt of the notification 415.

Notification of the outbound message 420, including the message ID, is then transmitted from the status agent 310 o to the status service 150. Access to the status service 150 may be provided via a web API, with the status agent 310 o constructing its notification message in the form of an HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) request message for transmission to the status service 150. A suitable acknowledgement response 425 can then be returned by the status service 150 to the status agent 310 o. The content of the notification 420 need not include all information obtained by the status agent 310 o regarding the outbound message 405. In a simple implementation, to minimize the amount of data transmitted by the originating device 100, the notification 420 only comprises sufficient data (such as the message ID) for the status service 150 to reconcile incoming status notifications with a particular outbound message. The status service 150 stores the received message ID and any additional identifying information for use in reconciling incoming status notifications with the outbound message in association with an identifier of the originating device 100 (e.g. an address for use in delivering push data), received with the notification 420, in its status data store 370.

It will be appreciated that the relative timing of events depicted in FIG. 4, such as the acknowledgements 410, 425 and notifications 415, 415 a, 420, as well as events described below, may vary since the notification and status update procedures are executed asynchronously. For example, the notification 420 may be initiated even before the acknowledgement 410 confirming receipt of the outbound message at the messaging infrastructure 50 is received by the originating device 100. However, if the client application 320 o does not await the acknowledgement 410 prior to initiating the notification to the status agent 415, it is possible that the status agent 310 o will be invoked to monitor the status of a message that was not successfully sent. If no acknowledgement 410 is received within a predefined time, or if a delivery failure is reported by the messaging infrastructure 50 to the originating device 100, then the client application 320 o, upon determining that transmission had failed, may provide the agent 310 o with a notification that the monitoring of that particular message ID should be cancelled. In turn, the agent 310 o can then notify the status service 150 of the cancellation so that the status service 150 can delete the record corresponding to that message ID from its store 370. The agent 310 o may then also delete the record for that message ID from its own data store 315.

In the meantime, the message 430 is transmitted through the messaging infrastructure 50 as an inbound message to the receiving device 1000, where it is received in an incoming message queue for the client application 320 r. An acknowledgement 435 may be provided by the device 1000, for example by the client application 320 r, to the messaging infrastructure 50 (the acknowledgement 435 may instead be provided by another module on the device 1000).

The status agent 310 r executing on the receiving device 1000 monitors the client application 320 r's message store or an incoming message queue, or else awaits notification from the client application 320 r that a new message has arrived. Upon determination that a new message has been received on behalf of the client application 320 r, the status agent 310 r extracts the message ID and any additional identifying information (as described above) as indicated at 440. Alternatively, the client application provides this information in a notification 440 a. The status agent 310 r then transmits a delivery notification 445 comprising the message ID, any additional identifying information, and a status indicator reflecting the incoming message's current status (in this case, the status indicator indicates that the message has been received by the receiving device 1000) to the status service 150. This notification 445 may be acknowledged by the status service 150 in a response 450. This delivery notification 445 can be provided using a similar method to that described for the status agent 310 o providing the outbound message notification to the status service 150.

The status service 150, being in receipt of a message ID (and any additional identifying information) indicated as being delivered, queries its status data store 370 for a matching message ID. If a matching stored ID is found, the status service 150 then generates a status update message 455 for transmission (for example, via the push service 70 described above) to the originating device 100 identified in association with the stored ID. The status update message comprises the message ID, any further identifying information that may be required for the status agent 310 o to correlate the status update message 455 with messages identified in the status agent 310 o's data store, as well as an indicator of the new status (in this case, “delivered” or an appropriate code or flag indicating delivered status). The update message, again, may include a checksum or other redundancy value. The status update message or notification 455 is transmitted to the device 100, where it is provided to the status agent 310 o. The status notification 455 may be provided in the form of an XML (eXtensible Markup Language) or JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) object, or in the form of an HTTP response. Again, an acknowledgement 460 may be provided by the device 100, from the status agent 310 o or from another module on the device 100.

The status agent 310 o then extracts the message ID and any additional identifying information received in the status notification 455 and identifies a corresponding message ID in its own store 315. If the message ID is found in the status data store 315, then the agent 310 o provides a status update 465 (for example in the form of a callback) to the application 320 o identified in association with the stored message ID. As mentioned above, the application 320 o may instead monitor an incoming status queue to obtain updated status information, as indicated at 465 a. The client application 320 o may then update its own message store to reflect the new status information for the message (i.e., that it has been delivered to the recipient device 1000) and update any screens displaying that message or a message listing including that message to reflect the changed status.

In the meantime, new status information may be detected by the status agent 310 r when the message as received by the receiving device 1000 is determined to have been read. A read notification 470 is then generated by the status agent 310 r and delivered to the status service 150 (and optionally acknowledged 475), and in turn a new status notification 480 is delivered to the device 100 and the status agent 310 o, indicating the new “read” status of the message. A further acknowledgement 485 may be provided by the device 100 to the status service 150. Finally, a further status update 490 is provided to the client application 320 o, indicating that the message is read, or alternatively the client application 320 o detects the newly received status 490 a. The client application 320 o can then update its message store and any screens displaying the message to reflect the changed status.

Thus, the status agents 310 o, 310 r implemented on the devices 100, 1000 and the status service 150 provide a system for tracking the delivered and read status of messages sent from the originating device 100 to the receiving device 1000, and for providing updated delivered and read status to the originating device 100, without requiring status messages to be transmitted over the same transport as the originally sent message. Because the status updates are transmitted asynchronously and advantageously using a push service, notifications are received promptly and are less likely to be subject to potential delay in the messaging infrastructure 50. Further, the system described herein is adaptable for use with multiple message formats, because the delivery of the delivered and read status notifications is message format- and transport-agnostic. A variety of message types can therefore be enhanced with the display of “delivered” and “read” notifications, enhancing user experience when interacting with recipients through electronic messaging. Further, this system may also enhance reply and forwarded messages generated at the recipient device 1000 from the original message. For example, if the recipient originates a response to the initial message M, this reply message may be assigned a distinct message ID from M by the reply-originating device (i.e., the receiving device 1000), Similarly, if the recipient forwards the received message M to another recipient, the forwarded message may be assigned a distinct message ID from M by the forwarding device (again, the receiving device 1000). The respective status agents of the participating communication devices 100, 1000 and the status service 150 will be able to track the status of the reply or forwarded message between the sender of the reply or forwarded message and the recipient of that message.

Further, by providing status agents 310 o, 310 r for handling the actual notification of the status service 150 and receipt of status updates, a variety of messaging applications may be easily adapted to incorporate delivered and read notifications without requiring the messaging applications themselves to be configured to receive and process the status notifications. Correlation of newly received status updates with messages previously transmitted from the originating device 100 is handled by the status agent 310 o, and notification of the corresponding messaging application of the newly received status information is initiated by the agent 310 o. On the receiving device 1000, the status agent 310 r handles the transmission of status notifications to the status service 150 by monitoring incoming messages on behalf of the messaging applications, again avoiding the need for the messaging applications themselves to be configured to transmit delivery notifications to an external service.

Encryption or other security, although not expressly described, may be applied to the communications described herein. Encryption may be applied to any messages transmitted between the originating device 100 and the receiving device 1000 using techniques known in the art. The notifications passed between the originating device 100, status service 150, and receiving device 1000 may also be transmitted in encrypted format. However, if unencrypted, for added security, rather than passing the message IDs and other data in their raw or original format some or all of the data may be hashed or otherwise encoded by the devices 100, 1000 before it is transmitted to the status service 150. For example, the outbound message notifications and status notifications transmitted by the status agents 310 o, 310 r can contain hashed versions of the message IDs and other data, such as recipient addresses, contained therein. The status service 150 therefore stores the received hash values. When a status notification is received, the hash value in the status notification is matched against the hash values in the status service's store, and when a status update is sent to the status agent 310 o of the originating device 100, the update message will contain hash values. Accordingly, the status agent 310 o computes hashed values of the message IDs as well as the message IDs themselves, and matches the incoming status notifications to message IDs using the message ID hashes. In this manner, access at the status service 150 to potentially sensitive information such as recipient addresses is protected while still permitting the status service 150 to reconcile status updates with outbound messages.

The foregoing system and methods may be implemented with a number of variants. FIG. 5 illustrates a network arrangement similar to that in FIG. 1, here omitting the push service 70 and select components of the status service 150 for clarity. In this embodiment, the originating device 100 and the receiving device 1000 each communicate messages such as message M with the messaging infrastructure 50 via wireless networks 20, 30. The initial outgoing message notification 510 to the status service 150, the status notification 520 from the receiving device 1000 to the status service, and the status update 530 from the status service 150 to the originating device 100 take place in part over a public network 80 such as the Internet. This arrangement may be used with a number of message formats and protocols. The communication flow between the devices 100, 1000 can take place as generally described above.

In FIG. 6A and accompanying communication diagram FIG. 6B, the receiving device 1000 is shown in communication with an online service 160. The online service can be accessed by the receiving device 1000 over the public network. The online service 160 may be a webmail or other Internet messaging service. Messaging may be the primary function of the service, or offered as an ancillary service, such as in a social web application. Users may subscribe or register for the online service. An account is maintained for each registered user, and any user-generated content (such as messages composed by the user for transmission from the online service) or messages addressed to the user's account are stored in association with that account in a message store 165. The message M is sent from the originating device 100 via the wireless network 20 and messaging infrastructure 50, generally as contemplated above (with an optional acknowledgement 642 received from the infrastructure 50), and thence via the public network 80 to the online service 160. At the originating device, the client application 320 o provides a notification 644 to the status agent 310 o comprising the message ID, as described above, and in turn the status agent 310 o provides an outbound message notification 646 to the status service 150. An acknowledgement 648 is received in response.

In this embodiment, the receiving device 1000 need not include a status agent. Rather, the online service 160 includes a status agent server or component 170. After the message M is received by the online service 160, the message is stored in the message store 165. The online service 150 can transmit an acknowledgement to the messaging infrastructure 50. The status agent component 170 monitors the message store 165 or an incoming message queue for new messages, and extracts the message ID of each new message. Alternatively the status agent component 170 receives a notification of the incoming message from a message handler component of the online service 160. The status agent component 170 then generates a delivered status notification 654 for transmission to the status service 150, as described above. The status service 150, as before, provides the status notification 658 to the status agent 810 o of the originating device 100, and may receive an acknowledgement 660 from the device 100. The status agent 310 o can then update 662 the client application 320 o with the updated status as described above.

In the meantime, the online service provides the message to the receiving device 1000. If the online service is a webmail or other web messaging service, then the provision of the message M may be accomplished by transmitting a webpage or other code comprising the content of M to the receiving device 1000 in response to a request received from the receiving device 1000. Upon provision of the message M to the receiving device 1000, the message may be marked as read in the online service message store 165. The status agent component 170 detects the changed status of the message M and transmits a read status notification 664 including the message's ID to the status service 150. The status service returns an acknowledgement 666, and provides a status notification 668 to the status agent 310 o comprising the message ID reflecting the changed status. The device 100 may acknowledge the notification 670, and finally the status agent 310 o updates the status of the message for the client application 320 o at 672, again as generally described above.

Turning to FIGS. 7A and 7B, the originating device 100 is now the device accessing the online service 160. The message M is sent from the originating device 100 to the online service 160 via the public network 80. From the online service 160, the message M is sent to the receiving device 1000 via a public network 80, messaging infrastructure 50, and a wireless network 30. The message may be acknowledged 742. The online service 160 also provides a notification 744 via its status agent component 170 to the status service 150, as described above, and in turn the status service 150 provides an acknowledgement 746. The message M is transmitted by the messaging infrastructure 50 to the receiving device 1000, for receipt on behalf of the client application 320 r. An acknowledgement 350 may be transmitted from the device 1000 to the messaging infrastructure 50.

The status agent 310 r on the receiving device 1000 then detects the received message, and provides a delivery status notification 752 identifying the message to the status service 150. An acknowledgement 754 is received in response. The status service 150 then provides a status update 756 to the online service's status agent component 170. The updated status, that of “delivered”, may then be stored in the message store 165 in association with the message identified by the status update 756, and the status service 150 may receive an acknowledgement 758 in response.

When the message is read at the receiving device 1000, the receiving device's agent 310 r detects the changed state and transmits a status update 760 comprising the message ID notifying the status service 150 of the new read status. The status service 150, after acknowledging 762 the notification, then transmits new status information 764 to the status agent component 170 of the online service 160. Again, an acknowledgement 766 may be transmitted from the online service 160 to the status service 150. The online service 160 stores the updated status in the message store 165. Thus, the next time the user of the online service 160 accesses his or her account to view a listing of messages sent from the online service from the user's account, updated delivered and read status will be available.

In the foregoing embodiments of FIGS. 6A to 7B, the status agent 170 of the online service 160 may thus report the status of every message M sent or received. Alternatively, the ability to track change status and report status notifications may be set at the user account level, so that status reporting may be enabled or disabled for an entire account by the user or an administrator.

As mentioned previously, the delivered and read status of sent messages may be displayed in graphical user interfaces on the originating or destination devices 100, 1000. Further examples are shown in FIGS. 8A to 8F. FIGS. 8A and 8B illustrate user interfaces 800 a, 800 b that may be displayed in a chat or instant messaging application. The user interface 800 a of FIG. 8A displays a list of ongoing “chats” or instant message conversations 802, 804, 806, 808, 810, 812 that a user of the device 100 may have with individual recipients. Each listing includes a name and avatar of the other participant, as well as at least a portion of a last message transmitted from or received at the device 100. Each of the conversations is marked with an indicator or icon 803, 805, 807, 809, 811, 813, respectively. Conversations 806 and 810 are marked, respectively, with icons 807 and 811, which in this example denote that the most recent message in the conversation was received at the device 100 from the other participant. The remaining icons 803, 805, 809 and 811 denote that the most recent message in the conversation was transmitted from the device 100, and these icons indicate the status of that message as it was last known at the device 100. Icons 803 and 809 are “read” indicators, indicating that the last message sent from the device 100 was marked as read at the recipient's device, based on a status update notification received from the status service 150. Icons 805 and 811 are “delivered” indicators, indicating that the last message sent from the device 100 was received at the recipient's device, again based on a status update notification received from the status service 150.

The client messaging application may be configured to permit the user to filter or sort messages according to different criteria. In FIG. 8B, a further user interface 800 b for the same application shown in FIG. 8A is illustrated, in which the contents of the message listing have been filtered to display sent items only. Thus, only conversations 802, 804, 808 and 812 are displayed with their corresponding icons 803, 805, 809 and 813. Thus, the user can easily identify which of his or her recipients has read the messages sent by the user, and can determine whether any other action needs to be taken to ensure that the recipient reads and responds to the message.

FIG. 8C illustrates a user interface 800 c for an email application containing a listing of both send and received messages 820, 822, 824, 826, 828, 830 and 832. Each of the messages is denoted with a corresponding icon 821, 823, 825, 827, 829, 831, 833, indicating a current state of the message. In this example, the icons 823, 827, 831, 833 denote messages that have been sent from the communication device 100, and also indicate the last known status of the email message as either delivered (email message 822) or read (email messages 826, 830, 832). Again, as shown in the user interface 800 d of FIG. 8D, the listing can be filtered to display sent items only so that the user can determine at a glance which messages have been read by the recipient.

FIG. 8E illustrates another user interface 800 e for a unified message box listing combining delivered and read status icons for multiple message formats such as instant messages (messages 842, 844, and 848) and email (messages 840, 846, and 850), each with a corresponding icon (843, 845, 849, 841, 847 and 851). Sent messages 842, 844, and 846 are denoted with delivered or read status icons 843, 845 and 847 respectively. The application presenting the unified message box user interface 800 e may obtain the delivered and read status by querying the message stores storing the various messages at the device 100. The respective message stores would have been updated by the device's status agent 310 when status notifications for those messages were received.

In FIG. 8E, it may be noted that one sent message 848 is not denoted with either a delivered or read status icon. This may be the case where the recipient of the message received the message at a receiving device that is not configured with its own corresponding status agent 310, or at a receiving device that may be provided with a status agent 310, but where the receiving messaging application is not configured to interact with the status agent 310 to provide status updates to the status service 150. If no status is available for the sent message 848, the messaging application defining the user interface 800 e may be configured to display a notification to the user of the device 100 that the recipient is not using an application or device supporting status agents. Thus, as shown in the user interface 800 f of FIG. 8F, a notification 860 is displayed adjacent to the message 848. This notification 860 may comprise a user interface element that is actuatable (for example, by means of a tap or click using a user input interface such as a touchscreen, trackpad or button) to invoke an instruction on the device 100 to transmit a message to the recipient of the message 848 to download an appropriate application supporting the status agent 310, or to procure a communication device that is configured with a status agent 310.

FIG. 9 further illustrates the interaction between an application, such as the messaging application 320, with the status agent 310 on the originating device 100. At 900, transmission of a new message is initiated by the messaging application 820. At 910, the messaging application 320 notifies the status agent 310 of the outbound message, providing the message ID as described above, and optionally other information such as a timestamp, a client application identifier, recipient information, and other message metadata. The status agent 310 receives the outbound message notification at 920, and transmits an outbound message notification to the status service at 930. The outbound message notification may include only the message ID as described above, but it may also include one or more parts of the other information. At 940, the agent 310 receives a status update from the status service 150. The status agent 310 extracts the message ID from the update and looks up the message ID in its own store at 950. If necessary, additional information received in the status update (such as recipient information or other metadata) may be used in the lookup for the purpose of disambiguation, should the message ID not be unique in the agent's store. If no match of the message ID is found in the store, then the message ID may have expired or been deleted; the status update is therefore discarded at 960. If there is a match, then at 970 a status update comprising the message ID and the new status of the message (delivered or read) is provided to the messaging application 320. At 980, the status update is received by the messaging application 320, and at 990 the corresponding message store 325 is updated with the status of the message. If a currently displayed screen displays the message or a listing of the message, then at 990 the display is updated as well to reflect the newly received status of the message.

FIG. 10 illustrates a process implemented at the status service 150. At 1005, an outbound message notification is received from a status agent 310. As described above, the notification includes at least a message ID. The message ID is stored at 1010. The status service 150 then waits for a delivery notification from a receiving device at 1030. Because the message may have been transmitted to a receiving device that does not implement or support a status agent, the status service 150 may be configured to assign a status of “indeterminate” or “unknown” if no delivered status notification is received within a predefine period of time. The period of time may be defined taking into account typical delays in relaying the message over the messaging infrastructure and the relative immediacy of the message (i.e., how quickly the message is conventionally expected to be received or read). For an email message, for example, the expiry time may be 3 days, while for an instant message the expiry time may be 12 hours. If it is determined at 1040 that no delivered status notification has been received by the expiry time, then the message status may be determined to be “indeterminate”, and this status is pushed at 1060 to the status agent 310 on the originating device 100. Otherwise, when a delivered status notification is received, this delivered status update is pushed at 1060 to the status agent 310.

The status service 150 also waits for a read status notification at 1070. When the notification is received, this new read status is pushed to the device's status agent 310 at 1080, and no further updates are expected at 1090. Thus, after a further expiry period, the status service 150 may purge the record for that message ID from its store. The status service 150, however, may retain its records for a period of time for use in audits or diagnostic activities. Also, although not shown in FIG. 10, an expiry time may be associated with waiting for the read status notification at 1070. If no read notification is received within a given period of time, such as 1 week or one month, the record for that message ID may be automatically purged from the status service 150.

As another alternative, in some embodiments a message or other data entity may be defined with a expiration date, after which date the message is automatically deleted or from the originating device's message store and/or the recipient device's message store. This expiration date may be included in the outbound message notification received by the status service 150 at 1005, and stored together with the message ID at 1010. If the expiration date is reached prior to receipt of one or both of the delivered and read status notifications from the receiving device, then the record comprising the message ID is deleted at the status service 150 and no further status notifications are transmitted to the originating device 100.

Because outbound message and status notifications are transmitted asynchronously and network delays may occur, it is conceivable that in some circumstances status updates may be received by the status service 150 before the corresponding outbound message notification is received. Thus, as shown in FIG. 11, if the status update from a receiving device 1000 is initially received at the status service 150 at 1100, the status service 150 first determines at 1110 whether the message ID in the status update matches a stored message ID. If there is a match, the status service 150 then pushes the status update to the status agent 1150. If, however, there is no match, at 1120 the status service 150 stores the status update in association with the message ID and awaits receipt of an outbound message notification from the originating device 100. If a timeout occurs at 1130, then the status update is discarded at 1140. The timeout and deletion of the status update may be carried out as part of a period maintenance routine at the status service. For example, on a periodic basis (e.g. once per day), any records associated with expired timeout periods or past expiration dates are deleted.

A communication device 100, 1000 may have more than one messaging or data consuming application installed that makes use of the same types of messages. For example, email messages received at a communication device 100, 1000 associated with a given user account may be retrieved from a common message store by two different email applications. In that case, when the status agent 310 provides the status notification to the messaging application that initiated the outbound message notification, the messaging application can then update the message in the common message store. Thus, when the second messaging application accesses the same message, the current status will retrieved by the second messaging application. However, if the messaging applications do not update the message store, but rather maintain a separate store of status information for its messages, provision of the status update by the status agent 310 to the first messaging application will not result in the update being provided to the second messaging application.

Thus, turning to FIG. 12, the status agent 310 may be configured to provide updates to multiple applications. Each application 320, 330, 340, 350 on the device that is configured to implement status notifications in conjunction with the status agent 310 may register with the status agent 310, each providing an interface or method to be called for passing status updates to the application. Then, a message is transmitted from a first messaging application 320 at 1210 and the status agent is notified at 1215. The notification to the status agent 310 includes not only the message ID, but also an indicator of the message type transmitted by the messaging application 320. For example, a flag or other code may be appended to the message ID or passed as a separate parameter to the status agent 310. The status agent 310 receives the outbound message notification from the first messaging application at 1220, and transmits a notification to the status service 150 at 1225. The notification transmitted to the service 150 need not include the message type indicator. As described above, the status agent 310 receives a status update from the status service 150 at 1230. The status agent 310 determines, upon looking up the message ID received in the status update, that the message ID is associated with a particular message type. A second messaging application 330 is also registered with the status agent 310 to receive status updates for that message type. Therefore, at 1235, rather than simply providing the status update to the first application 320, the status agent 310 provides the update to both the first and second applications 320, 330, each of which receives the update respectively at 1240, 1250, and updates its status store at 1245, 1255. If one of the applications is currently displaying the message for which a status update was received, then at 1245 or 1255 the application updates its display of the message to reflect the new status.

As noted above, in the foregoing embodiment, the data passed to the status service 150 is relatively lightweight, including at a minimum the message ID, an address for the originating device 100, and a status (e.g. “delivered”). In some embodiments, the status notification 440 does not comprise any further data (except for optionally a checksum or another redundancy check value for data integrity), thus minimizing the amount of data to be transmitted to or from the sending and receiving devices 100, 1000. When the message is a unicast message, no identification of the receiving device 1000 or recipient address is necessary to provide adequate status information to the originating device 100. However, where a single message is transmitted from the originating device 100 but is addressed and/or subsequently delivered by the messaging infrastructure 50 to a number of recipients (such as a multicast or broadcast message), additional information is provided to the status service 150 to track delivered and read status of each message endpoint. For example, when an email message is transmitted from the originating device 100 having a number recipients defined in one or more of the to:, cc: and bcc: fields, or when a message of a different format addressed to a group comprised of multiple recipients is transmitted, identifiers for each of the recipients can be provided to the status service 150. An implementation of the above status tracking and management system for group messages is described with reference to FIG. 13A and following.

A typical scenario in which a message M is multicast is illustrated in FIG. 13A. The originating device 100 transmits a single message addressed to a group of recipients to the messaging infrastructure 50, where separate messages are thereafter directed to each of the individual recipients. The generation and addressing of multicast messages will be understood by those skilled in the art. The message M may be addressed at the originating device 100 by specifying a number of recipient addresses or destinations (as would be done in an email addressed to several recipients), or by specifying a group address or identifier. When the message is received at a server or other relay point in the messaging infrastructure 50, the member recipient addresses referenced by the group address or identifier are used to direct copies of the message to the individual addressees. Thus, at the originating device 100 a single instance of the message M exists in the device's message store, while a copy of the message M also exists a number of endpoints, the receiving devices 1000 a, 1000 b, and 1000 c. Each of the copies of the message M includes an identification of the recipients of the message, whether by means of their individual addresses, or by a group address or identifier from which each device can determine the identity of the individual members by address or other identifier. Each device may identify the other individual members by querying a local contact data store, for example a contact data store maintained by the messaging application to track group membership.

Multicast messages of this type may be implemented for communications among all members of a defined group, for example in an instant messaging context. A group of members is defined (which in the embodiments described herein can include the users of the originating device 100 and the receiving devices 1000 a, 1000 b and 1000 c) for use with an instant messaging application implemented on each of the devices. When the group chat mode of the instant messaging application is invoked, any messages composed and transmitted from any of the devices while in that mode are transmitted via the messaging infrastructure 50 to all of the members of the group. Thus, every member of the group, provided their respective communication device is serviced by an appropriate network and is able to receive messages from the infrastructure 50, will receive the same set of messages. A group may comprise two or more members. In some embodiments, the set of recipients comprising the group members is defined prior to transmission of the first message in the group communication session. In other embodiments, group members may be added after the initial transmission, and may then receive at least the subsequent messages addressed to the group.

In this scenario, the status service 150 (here illustrated without additional components such as the push service 70 or other network infrastructure components for ease of reference) may still be used to track and manage the status of the messages M sent to the receiving devices 1000 a, 1000 b and 1000 c. In FIG. 13A, once the message has been transmitted by the originating device 100, an outbound message notification is transmitted to the status service 150 generally in the manner described above with reference to FIG. 4 via the originating device's status agent 310, including the message ID and a sender identifier. The originating device 100 and the receiving devices 1000 a, 1000 b and 1000 c in this embodiment are each provided with a corresponding status agent 310 and messaging and other applications 320 . . . 350, and communication flow follows the process illustrated in FIG. 4. At this initial stage, the data received by the status service 150 that may be stored in its data store includes the information illustrated in table 1350, which represents example data that may be stored in a record of the status service's data store. In this example, the data includes a message ID (“msg_ID”), a sender identifier (“sender_ID”), referring to the identity of the sender of a message or of a delivered or read status notification, and a status indicator. While in these figures the sender identifier is illustrated as an email address, the identifier may be a different type of address or identifier, such as a mobile number, PIN (personal identification number), or other numeric or alphanumeric address. The sender identifier need not be provided or stored as a separate object from the message ID. For example, the outbound message notification may be generated by the status agent 310 such that the sender identifier is appended to the message ID. For the sender of the original message M, the status stored at the service system 150 is represented as “sent”.

FIG. 13B is an example graphical user interface 1300 that may be displayed at the originating device 100 as a result of the act represented in FIG. 13A, that of transmitting the message M. The interface 1300 here includes a series of instant messages 1322, 1324, 1326 and 1328 arranged in chronological order. The final message 1328 is the message M just transmitted from the originating device 100. In this example, the final message 1328 includes an attachment that is a calendar or meeting invitation that can be received and processed at a recipient communication device 1000 a, 1000 b or 1000 c in a calendar application in a manner similar to conventional electronic calendar invitations.

The user interface 1300 contains a conversation within a defined group of recipients, including the sender of the message (i.e. the user of the sending device 100), as well as three other recipients 1340 a, 1340 b, and 1340 c. Avatars (or other icons or graphics) representative of the other recipients, or group members, are displayed in a display panel 1330, here disposed across the bottom of the screen and overlaying a portion of the conversation window in which the instant messages are displayed. When the number of avatars or other icons representing group members is too large to be displayed at once within the display panel, the display panel is scrollable so that other recipients can be displayed. The avatars 1340 b and 1340 c in this example correspond to the other recipients who have communicated in the displayed conversation (see messages and 1324, 1326), while no message from the user represented by the first avatar 1340 a is displayed. At this stage, there is no notification that any of the group members have received or read the most recently sent message 1328.

FIG. 14 illustrates a possible next event after the acts of FIG. 13A. Each of the receiving devices 1000 a, 1000 b and 1000 c, after receiving the message M, transmits using their respective status agents 310 a status notification message that includes the message ID as extracted from the message M (the message ID provided by the originating device 100 is replicated within each individual message transmitted to each receiving device 1000 a, 1000 b and 1000 c). Each of the notifications also includes a sender identifier corresponding to the device sending the notification, and an identification of the status of the message identified by the message ID. In the case of the first two receiving devices 1000 a and 1000 b, the status is “delivered” while for the third device 1000 c, the status is “read”. While the status of a message is initially set as “delivered” when the status agent 310 determines that it has been received at the device, if the message is read immediately afterwards, the “read” notification may be transmitted to the status service 150 at the same time as, or in place of, the “delivered” notification. The data store at the status service 150 will therefore reflect the new statuses of the messages received at the various endpoints, the receiving devices 1000 a, 1000 b and 1000 c and the sending device 100. As shown in the table 1450, the record corresponding to the sender remains the same, while additional records are created for each of the three recipients that transmitted status updates to the status service 150 and again include the message ID, the sender identifier, and the corresponding status of the message identified by the message ID at the corresponding device.

FIG. 15A illustrates another possible next event following the event of FIG. 14. The status service 150, having received status information from the three receiving devices 1000 a, 1000 b and 1000 c, next transmits status update notifications to each of the participating group members at their devices 100, 1000 a, 1000 b and 1000 c as well as the originating device 100, using the sender identifiers provided. Thus, for a given message ID, a status update notification is sent for every sender identifier recorded at the status service 150. The status update transmitted to each of the devices can contain the same information in respect of all participants, even if one or more of the records is duplicative of status information already held at the device 100, 1000 a, 1000 b or 1000 c. As shown in table 1550, the relevant information in the data store at this stage is the same as the information shown in FIG. 14. Each of the devices 100, 1000 a, 1000 b, and 1000 c will thus receive the same set of status update information. When the information is received by each device's status agent 310, the status agent can then correlate the received status information with the single instance of the message ID at the device, and identify the application to which the status information is to be provided. The status information provided to the application may include the status for each of the participants, and the application may then determine which of the status values to use to update the application's data store.

FIG. 15B illustrates another version of the graphical user interface of the messaging application of FIG. 13B that may result once the originating device 100 has received, via its status agent 310, the updated status notification described with reference to FIG. 15A. In this user interface 1500, the messaging application now displays status information for each of the members of the group. This is shown by the superimposed badges or icons 1342 a, 1342 b, 1342 c in FIG. 15B, which indicate that the associated recipient has either received (“d” for “delivered”) or read (“r”) the message 1328. Thus, the user of the originating device 100 can now tell at a glance which of the members of the group receiving the message 1328 have either received or read the message. It may be inferred that if a recipient's status indicates that he or she has read the mg 1328 (as indicated by the badge 1342 c), then that particular recipient is likely to have read all the messages in the conversation.

FIG. 16 illustrates a further event after the transmission of status update information in FIG. 15A. Here, the second receiving device 1000 b transmits a new status notification to the status service 150, indicating that the message 1328 has now been read. Thus, the status information 1650 stored at the status service 150 is updated by the status service 150 to reflect that the second recipient has read the message. Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 17A, the status service 150 transmits new status update notifications to each of the devices 100, 1000 a, 1000 b, and 1000 c. The graphical user interface 1700 shown in FIG. 17B now shows that the badge 1342 b of the second group member has been changed to reflect the new “read” status.

In some circumstances, not every device 100, 1000 a, 1000 b, 1000 c, 1000 d will receive a status update notification from the status service at the same time, since one or more of the devices may be out of wireless coverage, powered off, and so forth. The status service 150 or the push service used to deliver status update notifications may queue undeliverable notifications until such time that the device re-enters a wireless coverage area or is otherwise able to receive notifications. In the meantime, however, the device that fails to receive a status update notification will not display the same delivery/read status badges as the other devices within the group.

FIG. 18A illustrates a scenario that may occur in place of the event of FIG. 17A, in which a most recent status update was transmitted to all four devices. In FIG. 18A, instead, the status update reflected by FIG. 16 is transmitted only to receiving devices 1000 b and 1000 c, while devices 100 and 1000 a do not receive the status update. Consequently, the graphical user interface 1800 of FIG. 18B for the originating device 100, which did not receive the status update in FIG. 18A, displays the last known status, which indicates that two members have received the last message 1328 (badges 1342 a and 1342 b indicate “delivered” status) while only one has read the message (badge 1342 c). The device 1000 c, on the other hand, having received this status update, displays a different badge 1342 b indicating that this particular group member has read the message 1328. This disparity between the two devices will be eliminated once the missing status update has been pushed to the originating device 100.

The foregoing implementation thus provides for delivered and read status notifications for group instant messaging contexts without requiring numerous messages to be delivered from each participating device to every other device. Without the above solution implemented with the devices' status agents and the status service 150, in order to advise all members of the group that one of the members had received and/or read a message, a confirmation message would need to be transmitted from one device to each of the other participating devices, a total of three messages when four devices (100, 1000 a, 1000 b, 1000 c) are participating in the group chat. If two of the member devices experienced a status change at the same time, then a total of six messages would need to be transmitted among the devices to update the others. Transmitting these additional messages would result in increased battery or power consumption at that device, and increase the burden on the messaging infrastructure 50. With the status service 150, however, status updates reflecting changed statuses at two member devices may still be distributed among the four member devices simply by pushing the same message to all four devices one time. Because the status service 150 provides the status update notifications to be pushed to the four devices, reliance on the messaging infrastructure for delivering status update messages is reduced. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that although the group messaging embodiments herein are described with reference to a multicast message, these embodiments may also be implemented with other types of multi-party communication using other protocols or methodologies.

Attachments, including video, audio, and file attachments such as calendar invitations may be implemented in conjunction with instant messaging to provide users with a richer communication experience. A member of a group may thus create and attach a calendar invitation to an instant message to be sent to all other members of the group. The other members can accept or decline the invitation (or indicate tentative attendance), and the event defined by the invitation can be added to the recipient's calendar implemented on the recipient's communication device using methods known in the art. The attachment itself may not be transmitted over the same path as the instant message, as the attachment may be larger in size. Instead, the attachment can be transmitted vial email while the instant messages continue to be delivered to devices using a push-based system. Methods of handling attachments and delivering them to other devices for use in an instant messaging context will be known to those skilled in the art.

The handling of calendar invitation accept and decline messages can be integrated with the presentation of delivered/read notifications. Turning to FIG. 19, a graphical user interface 1900 displaying a calendar event is shown. The invitation for this calendar event may have been transmitted as an attachment to an instant message group; turning briefly to FIG. 13B, it can be seen that the last message 1328 includes a calendar icon 1329, indicating that an attachment was associated with that message. Thus, in FIG. 19, the graphical user interface 1900 includes a display overlay 1910 visually identifying members of the group 1920 a, 1920 b, 1920 c to whom the invitation was sent. Because the invitation was sent in the instant messaging context, the display overlay 1910 may include badges indicating the last status of the group member with respect to the last message transmitted to the group 1328. The graphical user interface 1900 shown here (on the display of device 1000 c) includes the same badges 1930 a, 1930 b, and 1930 c as shown in FIG. 18 C. Since the invitation was included with the last message 1328, the badges thus indicate that two recipients had read the message associated with the invitation, while one recipient had not yet read it.

FIG. 20A illustrates communication flow when the calendar invitation is accepted by one recipient, here the user of the receiving device 1000 b. A response message R is transmitted from the device 1000 b to the other devices 100, 1000 a and 1000 c. The response may be sent via a different transport than the instant messages transmitted among the participants. The current delivered/read status of messages sent to the group, however, remains the same as in FIG. 16, as shown in table 2050.

The result of the acceptance can be seen in FIG. 20B, which illustrates a user interface 2000 in which the calendar invitation is shown as being accepted by the second recipient as indicated by the changed badge 2030 b, which now depicts a check mark indicating that the calendar invitation was accepted. The other badges 2030 a and 2030 c continue to indicate that the first recipient has received the message 1328 associated with the invitation and that the third recipient has read the message 1328. Thus, at this stage, the user of the device 100 knows that one recipient has confirmed attendance at the scheduled event, and can infer that the first recipient is not aware of the invitation while the third recipient is aware of the invitation but has not yet replied, or is ignoring the invitation. With conventional calendar applications, only responses to the calendar invitation are displayed when recipient attendance is viewed, meaning that the user may not be able to infer whether non-responsive recipients will attend.

By contrast, the effect of combining both the delivered/read status of the message associated with the invitation with confirmed responses to the invitation itself provides the user of the device 100 with improved knowledge concerning the likely intentions of the invitees without requiring the user to initiate further contact with the others. For example, the user may infer that the first recipient will not attend at all since the message 1328 was not read, as indicated by the badge 2030 a. The user may also infer that the third recipient will attend because the message 1328 had been read as indicated by the badge 2030 c, and the third recipient had participated in the conversation leading to the message 1328 (see for example FIG. 13A, message 1324).

FIG. 21A illustrates communication flow where the first recipient at device 1000 a transmits a response R′ to the calendar invitation. This response is transmitted via the messaging infrastructure 50 to the other devices 100, 1000 b, and 1000 c. At the same time, however, it may be recalled that the first recipient at device 1000 a had not yet read the message 1328 prior to accepting the invitation (as indicated by the badge 2030 a in FIG. 20B). Thus, in addition to the response R′, the status agent 310 on the device 1000 a transmits a read status notification to the status service 150. Thus, the status service data is updated as shown in table 2150 to reflect that all three recipients have now read the message 1328.

The communication flow between two devices, the originating device (now device 1000 a) and a receiving device 1000 c, is further illustrated in FIG. 21B. The originating device 1000 a, using its status agent 310 (not shown), transmits a read notification 2100 for the message 1328 to the status service 150. The status service 150 responds with an acknowledgement 2105. Further, the originating device 1000 a also transmits a response 2110 to the calendar invitation (in this case declining the invitation), which is delivered to the messaging infrastructure 50. An acknowledgement 2115 of that response is received by the device 1000 a.

The messaging infrastructure 50 thereafter transmits the declined invitation response to the receiving device 1000 c at 2120, and an acknowledgement 2125 may then be received by the messaging infrastructure 50 confirming receipt of the response. At around the same time, the status service 150 has the status update notification indicating that the message 1328 has been read transmitted to the status agent 310 r of the receiving device 1000 c. The update may be acknowledged at 2135. The status update is thereafter provided to the client application at 2140. Thus, the client application receives two notifications or responses: a response to the calendar invitation itself, as well as a notification that the message 1328 associated with the invitation has been read.

Given the two types of status or responses associated with the recipient at device 1000 a, the client application may display the current status of the recipient in one of two ways: either the recipient may be indicated as having read the message 1328, or else the recipient may be indicated as having declined the invitation. The response to the calendar invitation therefore takes precedence over the read status of the message 1328, since the calendar invitation response constitutes an explicit response. A process for determining how to update the display of the messaging application is illustrated in FIG. 22. At 2200, the application displays the group members, for example in an overlay as illustrated in the accompanying figures. At 2210, it is determined whether a response to an invitation associated with the message 1328 has been received. If not, the current delivered/read status of the messages 1328 is retrieved and displayed at 2220. If there is an invitation response available, then at 2230 the response is retrieved and indicated in the display. An example of the resultant graphical user interface 2300 is shown in FIG. 23. Within the overlay 2310, the first recipient 2320 a is shown as having declined the invitation by badge 2330 a. The second recipient 2320 b is shown as having accepted the invitation, as indicated by the badge 2330 b. Finally, the third recipient 2320 c has neither accepted nor declined the invitation, but has merely read the message 1328 as indicated by the badge 2330 c.

The embodiments described herein for implementation on a computing device may be implemented on a communication device such as that illustrated in FIG. 24. The communication device may communicate with other devices over a wireless communication system. The communication device 100 may be a mobile device with two-way communication and advanced data communication capabilities including the capability to communicate with other mobile devices or computer systems through a network of transceiver stations. The communication device 100 can also have voice communication capabilities. However, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the foregoing embodiments do not require a dual-mode communication device; it is sufficient for the device 100 to be provisioned for data communication only via a fixed or wireless connection. Wireless connectivity may be provided by means of on-board communication hardware, such as the communication subsystems 2404, 2405 described below, or using accessories such as a wireless dongle or mobile hotspot device, not shown.

FIG. 24 is a block diagram of an example embodiment of a communication device 100. The communication device 100 includes a number of components such as a main processor 2402 that controls the overall operation of the communication device 100. Communication functions, including data and voice communications, are performed through a communication subsystem 2404. Data received by the communication device 100 can be decompressed and decrypted by decoder 2403, operating according to any suitable decompression techniques, and encryption/decryption techniques according to various standards, such as Data Encryption Standard (DES), Triple DES, or Advanced Encryption Standard (AES). Image data is typically compressed and decompressed in accordance with appropriate standards, such as JPEG, while video data is typically compressed and decompressed in accordance with appropriate standards, such as H.26x and MPEG-x series standards.

The communication subsystem 2404 receives messages from and sends messages to a wireless network 2500. In this example embodiment of the communication device 100, the communication subsystem 2404 is configured in accordance with one or more of Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM), General Packet Radio Services (GPRS) standards, Enhanced Data GSM Environment (EDGE) and Universal Mobile Telecommunications Service (UMTS). New standards are still being defined, but it is believed that they will have similarities to the network behavior described herein, and it will also be understood by persons skilled in the art that the embodiments described herein are intended to use any other suitable standards that are developed in the future. The wireless link connecting the communication subsystem 2404 with the wireless network 2500 represents one or more different Radio Frequency (RF) channels, operating according to defined protocols specified for GSM, GPRS, EDGE, or UMTS, and optionally other network communications. With newer network protocols, these channels are capable of supporting both circuit switched voice communications and packet switched data communications.

Other wireless networks can also be associated with the communication device 100 in variant implementations. The different types of wireless networks that can be employed include, for example, data-centric wireless networks, voice-centric wireless networks, and dual-mode networks that can support both voice and data communications over the same physical base stations. Combined dual-mode networks include, but are not limited to, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) or CDMA2000 networks, GSM/GPRS networks, third-generation (3G) networks like EDGE, HSPA, HSPA+, EVDO and UMTS, or fourth-generation (4G) networks such as LTE and LTE Advanced. Some other examples of data-centric networks include WiFi 802.11™, Mobitex™ and DataTAC™ network communication systems. Examples of other voice-centric data networks include Personal Communication Systems (PCS) networks like GSM and Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) systems.

The mobile device 100 may be provided with additional communication subsystems, such as the wireless LAN (WLAN) communication subsystem 2405 also shown in FIG. 24. The WLAN communication subsystem may operate in accordance with a known network protocol such as one or more of the 802.11™ family of standards developed by IEEE. The communication subsystem 2405 may be separate from, or integrated with, the communication subsystem 2404 or with the short-range communications module 2422. As noted above, voice communication capabilities and connectivity to voice-centric networks is not mandatory for the operation of the communication device 100 with the within embodiments. Thus, the wireless communication subsystem 2404 may be omitted. If so, optionally a dongle or other peripheral device (not shown) may be connected to the device 100 to provide the device 100 with access to the wireless network 200.

The main processor 2402 also interacts with additional subsystems such as a Random Access Memory (RAM) 2406, a flash memory 2408, a display 2410, other data and memory access interfaces such as an auxiliary input/output (I/O) subsystem 2412 or a data port 2414, a keyboard 2416, a speaker 2418, a microphone 2420, the short-range communications 2422 and other device subsystems 2424. The communication device may also be provided with an accelerometer 2411, which may be used to detect gravity- or motion-induced forces and their direction. Detection of such forces applied to the device 100 may be processed to determine a response of the device 100, such as an orientation of a graphical user interface displayed on the display assembly 2410 in response to a determination of the current orientation of the device 100.

In some embodiments, the user device 100 may comprise a touchscreen-based device, in which the display interface 2410 is a touchscreen interface that provides both a display for communicating information and presenting graphical user interfaces, as well as an input subsystem for detecting user input that may be converted to instructions for execution by the device 100. The touchscreen display interface 2410 may be the principal user interface provided on the device 100, although in some embodiments, additional buttons, variously shown in the figures or a trackpad, or other input means may be provided. In one embodiment, a transmissive TFT LCD screen 2518 is overlaid with a clear touch sensor assembly 2514 that supports single and multi-touch actions such as tap, double-tap, tap and hold, tap and drag, scroll, press, flick, and pinch. The touchscreen display interface 2410 detects these single and multi-touch actions, for example through the generation of a signal or signals in response to a touch, which may then be processed by the processor 2402 or by an additional processor or processors in the device 100 to determine the location of the touch action, whether defined by horizontal and vertical screen position data or other position data. Touch location data may include an area of contact or a single point of contact, such as a point at or near a center of the area of contact. The touchscreen display interface 2410 may be provided with separate horizontal and vertical sensors or detectors to assist in identifying the location of a touch. A signal is provided to the controller 2516, shown in FIG. 24, in response to detection of a touch. The controller 2516 and/or the processor 2402 may detect a touch by any suitable contact member on the touch-sensitive display 2410.

Some of the subsystems of the communication device 100 perform communication-related functions, whereas other subsystems can provide “resident” or on-device functions. By way of example, the display 2410 and the keyboard 2416 can be used for both communication-related functions, such as entering a text message for transmission over the network 2500, and device-resident functions such as a calculator or task list.

A rendering circuit 2425 is included in the device 100. When a user specifies that a data file is to be viewed on the display 2410, the rendering circuit 2425 analyzes and processes the data file for visualization on the display 2410. Rendering data files originally optimized or prepared for visualization on large-screen displays on a portable electronic device display often requires additional processing prior to visualization on the small-screen portable electronic device displays. This additional processing may be accomplished by the rendering engine 2425. As will be appreciated by those of skill in the art, the rendering engine can be implemented in hardware, software, or a combination thereof, and can comprise a dedicated image processor and associated circuitry, or can be implemented within main processor 2402.

The communication device 100 can send and receive communication signals over the wireless network 2500 after required network registration or activation procedures have been completed. Network access is associated with a subscriber or user of the communication device 100. To identify a subscriber, the communication device 100 requires a SIM/RUIM/UICC card 2426 (i.e. Subscriber Identity Module, Removable User Identity Module, Universal Integrated Circuit Card, or the like) or another suitable identity module to be inserted into a SIM/RUIM/UICC interface 2428 in order to communicate with a network. The SIM/RUIM/UICC card 2426 is one type of a conventional “smart card” that can be used to identify a subscriber of the communication device 100 and to personalize the communication device 100, among other things. Without the SIM/RUIM/UICC card 2426, the communication device 100 is not fully operational for communication with the wireless network 2500. By inserting the SIM/RUIM/UICC card 2426 into the SIM/RUIM/UICC interface 2428, a subscriber can access all subscribed services. Services can include: web browsing and messaging such as e-mail, voice mail, Short Message Service (SMS), and Multimedia Messaging Services (MMS). More advanced services can include: point of sale, field service and sales force automation. The SIM/RUIM/UICC card 2426 includes a processor and memory for storing information. Once the SIM/RUIM/UICC card 2426 is inserted into the SIM/RUIM/UICC interface 2428, it is coupled to the main processor 2402. In order to identify the subscriber, the SIM/RUIM/UICC card 2426 can include some user parameters such as an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI). An advantage of using the SIM/RUIM/UICC card 2426 is that a subscriber is not necessarily bound by any single physical mobile device. The SIM/RUIM/UICC card 2426 can store additional subscriber information for a mobile device as well, including datebook (or calendar) information and recent call information. Alternatively, user identification information can also be programmed into the flash memory 2408.

The communication device 100 may be a battery-powered device including a battery interface 2432 for receiving one or more rechargeable batteries 2430. In at least some embodiments, the battery 2430 can be a smart battery with an embedded microprocessor. The battery interface 2432 is coupled to a regulator (not shown), which assists the battery 2430 in providing power V+ to the communication device 100. Although current technology makes use of a battery, future technologies such as micro fuel cells can provide the power to the communication device 100.

The communication device 100 also includes an operating system 2434 and software components 2436 to 2446 which are described in more detail below. The operating system 2434 and the software components 2436 to 2446 that are executed by the main processor 2402 are typically stored in a persistent store such as the flash memory 2408, which can alternatively be a read-only memory (ROM) or similar storage element (not shown). Those skilled in the art will appreciate that portions of the operating system 2434 and the software components 2436 to 2446, such as specific device applications, or parts thereof, can be temporarily loaded into a volatile store such as the RAM 2406. Select other modules 2448 may also be included, such as those described herein. Other software components can also be included, as is well known to those skilled in the art.

The subset of software applications 2436 that control basic device operations, including data and voice communication applications, will normally be installed on the communication device 100 during its manufacture. Other software applications include a message application 2438 that can be any suitable software program that allows a user of the communication device 100 to send and receive electronic messages. Various alternatives exist for the message application 2438 as is well known to those skilled in the art. Messages that have been sent or received by the user are typically stored in the flash memory 2408 of the communication device 100 or some other suitable storage element in the communication device 100. In at least some embodiments, some of the sent and received messages can be stored remotely from the device 100 such as in a data store of an associated host system with which the communication device 100 communicates.

The software applications can further include a device state module 2440, a Personal Information Manager (PIM) 2442, and other suitable modules (not shown). The device state module 2440 provides persistence, i.e. the device state module 2440 ensures that important device data is stored in persistent memory, such as the flash memory 2408, so that the data is not lost when the communication device 100 is turned off or loses power.

The PIM 2442 includes functionality for organizing and managing data items of interest to the user, such as, but not limited to, e-mail, contacts, calendar events, voice mails, appointments, and task items. A PIM application has the ability to send and receive data items via the wireless network 2500. PIM data items can be seamlessly integrated, synchronized, and updated via the wireless network 2500 with the mobile device subscriber's corresponding data items stored and/or associated with a host computer system. This functionality creates a mirrored host computer on the communication device 100 with respect to such items. This can be particularly advantageous when the host computer system is the mobile device subscriber's office computer system. Some or all of the data items stored at the communication device 100 may be indexed for searching on the device 100 either through a corresponding application, such as the PIM 2442, or another suitable module. In addition, the items may be searchable using a unified search process implemented in the device operating system 2434. For example, application data items can be encapsulated in a searchable entity class and registered with a unified search engine on the device 100 that executes searches against all registered data repositories on the device based on received queries. The search engine can also be configured to invoke a search process of external resources, such as Internet search engines or remote databases.

The communication device 100 also includes a connect module 2444, and an information technology (IT) policy module 2446. The connect module 2444 implements the communication protocols that are required for the communication device 100 to communicate with the wireless infrastructure and any host system, such as an enterprise system with which the communication device 100 is authorized to interface.

The connect module 2444 includes a set of Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) that can be integrated with the communication device 100 to allow the communication device 100 to use any number of services associated with the enterprise system or with other systems accessible over the network 2500. The connect module 2444 allows the communication device 100 to establish an end-to-end secure, authenticated communication pipe with the host system. A subset of applications for which access is provided by the connect module 2444 can be used to pass IT policy commands from the host system to the communication device 100. This can be done in a wireless or wired manner. These instructions can then be passed to the IT policy module 2446 to modify the configuration of the device 100. Alternatively, in some cases, the IT policy update can also be done over a wired connection.

Other types of software applications can also be installed on the communication device 100. These software applications can be third party applications, which are added after the manufacture of the communication device 100. Examples of third party applications include games, calculators, utilities, etc.

The additional applications can be loaded onto the communication device 100 through at least one of the wireless network 2500, the auxiliary I/O subsystem 2412, the data port 2414, the short-range communications subsystem 2422, or any other suitable device subsystem 2424. This flexibility in application installation increases the functionality of the communication device 100 and can provide enhanced on-device functions, communication-related functions, or both. For example, secure communication applications can enable electronic commerce functions and other such financial transactions to be performed using the communication device 100.

The data port 2414 enables a subscriber to set preferences through an external device or software application and extends the capabilities of the communication device 100 by providing for information or software downloads to the communication device 100 other than through a wireless communication network. The alternate download path can, for example, be used to load an encryption key onto the communication device 100 through a direct and thus reliable and trusted connection to provide secure device communication. The data port 2414 can be any suitable port that enables data communication between the communication device 100 and another computing device. The data port 2414 can be a serial or a parallel port. In some instances, the data port 2414 can be a USB port that includes data lines for data transfer and a supply line that can provide a charging current to charge the battery 2430 of the communication device 100.

The short-range communications subsystem 2422 provides for communication between the communication device 100 and different systems or devices, without the use of the wireless network 2500. For example, the subsystem 2422 can include an infrared device and associated circuits and components for short-range communication. Examples of short-range communication standards include standards developed by the Infrared Data Association (IrDA), Bluetooth™, and the 802.11™ family of standards.

In use, a received signal such as a text message, an e-mail message, or web page download will be processed by the communication subsystem 2404 and input to the main processor 2402. The main processor 2402 will then process the received signal for output to the display 2410 or alternatively to the auxiliary I/O subsystem 2412. A subscriber can also compose data items, such as e-mail messages, for example, using the keyboard 2416 in conjunction with the display 2410 and possibly the auxiliary I/O subsystem 2412. The auxiliary subsystem 2412 can include devices such as: a touchscreen, mouse, track ball, infrared fingerprint detector, or a roller wheel with dynamic button pressing capability. The keyboard 2416 may be an alphanumeric keyboard and/or telephone-type keypad. However, other types of keyboards can also be used. A composed item can be transmitted over the wireless network 2500 through the communication subsystem 2404. It will be appreciated that if the display 2410 comprises a touchscreen, then the auxiliary subsystem 2412 may still comprise one or more of the devices identified above.

For voice communications, the overall operation of the communication device 100 is substantially similar, except that the received signals are output to the speaker 2418, and signals for transmission are generated by the microphone 2420. Alternative voice or audio I/O subsystems, such as a voice message recording subsystem, can also be implemented on the communication device 100. Although voice or audio signal output is accomplished primarily through the speaker 2418, the display 2410 can also be used to provide additional information such as the identity of a calling party, duration of a voice call, or other voice call related information.

The communication subsystem component 2404 may include a receiver, transmitter, and associated components such as one or more embedded or internal antenna elements, Local Oscillators (LOs), and a processing module such as a Digital Signal Processor (DSP) in communication with the transmitter and receiver. Signals received by an antenna through the wireless network 2500 are input to the receiver, which can perform such common receiver functions as signal amplification, frequency down conversion, filtering, channel selection, and analog-to-digital (A/D) conversion. A/D conversion of a received signal allows more complex communication functions such as demodulation and decoding to be performed in the DSP. In a similar manner, signals to be transmitted are processed, including modulation and encoding, by the DSP, then input to the transmitter for digital-to-analog (D/A) conversion, frequency up conversion, filtering, amplification and transmission over the wireless network 2500 via an antenna. The DSP not only processes communication signals, but also provides for receiver and transmitter control, including control of gains applied to communication signals in the receiver and the transmitter. When the communication device 100 is fully operational, the transmitter is typically keyed or turned on only when it is transmitting to the wireless network 2500 and is otherwise turned off to conserve resources. Similarly, the receiver is periodically turned off to conserve power until it is needed to receive signals or information (if at all) during designated time periods. Other communication subsystems, such as the WLAN communication subsystem 2405 or a WPAN communication subsystem, not shown, may be provided with similar components as those described above configured for communication over the appropriate frequencies and using the appropriate protocols. The particular design of the communication subsystem 2404, 2405, or other communication subsystem is dependent upon the communication network 2500 with which the communication device 100 is intended to operate. Thus, it should be understood that the foregoing description serves only as one example.

FIG. 25 illustrates a possible network topology for the communication device 100, including paths for data and voice traffic, and including a host or enterprise system 2550. The host or enterprise system 2550 will typically be a corporate enterprise or other local area network (LAN), but can also be a home office computer or some other private or quasi-private system, for example a subscription-based Internet service. Typically, a number of communication devices 100 can communicate wirelessly with the host or enterprise system 2550 through one or more nodes 2502 of the wireless network 2500.

The host or enterprise system 2550 comprises a number of network components, not shown, connected to each other by a network. Within the system 2550, for example, user (including administrator) computers may be situated on a LAN connection, and one or more of these desktop computers can be provided with connection facilities for loading information (e.g. PIM data, private symmetric encryption keys to facilitate secure communications) from the user computer to the communication device 100, and can be particularly useful for bulk information updates often performed in initializing the communication device 100 for use. To facilitate the operation of the communication device 100 and the wireless communication of messages and message-related data between the communication device 100 and components of the host system 2550, a number of wireless communication support components are provided within the system 2550 (not shown). In some implementations, the wireless communication support components can include one or more data stores, a message management server, a mobile data server, a web server, such as Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) server, a contact server, and a device manager module including an information technology policy server and editor. HTTP servers can also be located outside the host or enterprise system, as indicated by the HTTP server 2579 attached to the network 2524. Those skilled in the art know how to implement these various components. Other components can also be included as is well known to those skilled in the art.

The communication device 100's access to IP networks and to a public switched telephone network (PSTN), if applicable, can be provided through the wireless network 2500, which comprises one or more nodes 2502 configured for communication in accordance with a suitable mobile telephony standard. In turn, the wireless network 2500 provides the communication device 100 with connectivity to the Internet or other public wide area network 2524, and thence to the host or enterprise system 2550. At the same time, if the communication device 100 is a multiple-mode device, it may also communicate with the host or enterprise system 2550 over an enterprise LAN or WLAN, represented by the access point 2505. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, however, that access to the host system 2550 need not be limited to access via the enterprise network (whether wireless or not). Instead, the communication device 100 may access the host or enterprise system 2550 over another network, such as the wide area IP network 2524, via different access means, such as an access point located at the communication device user's home, or at a public or private Wi-Fi hotspot.

In this example embodiment, the communication device 100 communicates with the host or enterprise system 2550 through node 2502 of the wireless network 2500 and a shared network infrastructure 2524 such as a service provider network or the public Internet. Access to the host or enterprise system 2500 can be provided through one or more routers (not shown), and computing devices of the host or enterprise system 2550 can operate from behind a firewall or proxy server 2566. A proxy server provides a secure node and a wireless internet gateway for the host or enterprise system 2550. The proxy server intelligently routes data to the correct destination server within the host or enterprise system 2550.

For some wireless networks 2500 or LANs 2505, the communication device 100 may be registered or activated with the respective network. A process for identifying a subscriber to a cellular network using a SIM or other identifier card 2426 is described above. Other methods of registering or identifying the communication device 100 to various networks will be known to those of ordinary skill in the art. However, registration or activation may not be required for all wireless networks 2500, LANs or WLANs, as some networks may allow access without prior registration or activation. The communication device 100 may also be provisioned or configured to access one or more networks. Methods of provisioning services on a communication device 100 will be generally known to those skilled in the art, but as a non-limiting example, a request for registration may be sent from the communication device 100 to a registration server of a service (not shown). If the request is approved, the registration server may transmit to the communication device 100 a service book or similar data item containing data and instructions to enable the communication device 100 to provision the service. The service book, when received at the communication device 100, may be self-executing, and permits the user to enter account information relevant to the associated service. This information is then transmitted from the communication device 100 to a provisioning server of the service provider (not shown), which then creates a service account associated with the communication device 100. Provisioning may also be carried out in compliance with the OMA DM (Open Mobile Alliance Device Management) specification version 1.2 or its predecessor or successor versions, published by the Open Mobile Alliance Ltd.

One or more online services 160 are accessible over the network 2524 by the communication devices 100, by user devices connected to the host or enterprise system 1450 LAN, or by other user devices, not shown in FIG. 25. A push service, here represented by push server 2530, is accessible by the status service 150 (illustrated with data store 370; other components such as the communication interface 360, subscription manager 362, acknowledgement module 364, and push module 368 may be included within the push server 2530 or in additional components not illustrated). The push server 2530 may be integrated within the push service 150 or directly connected to the push service 150, bypassing the public network 2524. However, push services may also be provided as a third-party service to multiple services over the network 2524, including the online service 160. A push service may also be provided within the host or enterprise system 2550, although such a push service will generally deliver push content only to subscriber devices 100 registered with the enterprise.

There is thus provided a method, comprising: transmitting a multicast message from a sending communication device for delivery to a plurality of recipients; detecting, by a status agent executing at the sending communication device, transmission of said multicast message; transmitting, by the status agent for receipt by a status service, an outbound message notification for said multicast message; receiving, by the status agent from the status service, a status update message for each of the plurality of recipients indicating delivery of the multicast message to a corresponding receiving communication device for each said recipient; the status agent providing, at the sending communication device, a notification of delivery for each of the plurality of recipients.

In another aspect, the method further comprises receiving, by the status agent from the status service, a status update message for each of the plurality of recipients indicating that the multicast message delivered to the corresponding receiving communication device was read at said corresponding receiving communication device; and the status agent providing, at the sending communication device, a notification that the multicast message was read for each of the plurality of recipients.

In still another aspect, the method further comprises the sending communication device: upon provision of the notification of delivery for one of the plurality of recipients, displaying an indicator indicating that said multicast message was delivered to said recipient; and upon provision of the notification that the multicast message was read for one of the plurality of recipients, displaying an indicator indicating that said multicast message was read by said recipient.

In another aspect, detecting transmission of said multicast message comprises the status agent receiving a notification for said multicast message from a messaging application executing on the sending communication device.

In still another aspect, detecting transmission of said multicast message comprises the status agent monitoring an outbound message queue for a messaging application executing on the sending communication device.

In yet another aspect, the status agent provides the notifications of delivery or the notifications that each said one of the plurality of messages has been read to the messaging application.

The embodiments herein further provide that the method further comprises: receiving an inbound message at the sending communication device; detecting, by the status agent, receipt of said inbound message; transmitting, by the status agent for receipt by the status service, a received message notification for said inbound message, the received message notification comprising a message identifier and a recipient identifier for the inbound message; detecting, by the status agent, that said inbound message has been read; and transmitting, by the status agent for receipt by the status service, a read message notification for said inbound message thus read, the read message notification comprising the message identifier and the recipient identifier.

In another aspect, detecting receipt of said inbound message comprises the status agent receiving, from a messaging application executing on the sending communication device, a notification for said inbound message, or alternatively, detecting receipt of said inbound message comprises the status agent monitoring an inbound message queue for a messaging application executing on the sending communication device.

In the embodiments described herein, the status service comprises one or more servers in communication with the sending communication device at least in part over a wireless network.

Still further, the multicast message may be transmitted for delivery to the plurality of recipients via a messaging infrastructure and the status service is separate from the messaging infrastructure.

The embodiments herein further provide a communication system, comprising: means adapted to store messages; means adapted to enable transmission of a multicast message for delivery to a plurality of recipients and to enable receipt of an inbound message; and status agent means comprising: means adapted to detect transmission of the multicast message; means adapted to detect receipt of the inbound message; means adapted to detect when the inbound message has been read at the communication system; means adapted to enable transmission of, for receipt by a status service, an outbound message notification for said multicast message once transmission is detected, a received message notification for said inbound message once receipt is detected, and a read message notification for said inbound message once detected as being read; means adapted to enable receipt from the status service of: a delivery status update message for each of the plurality of recipients indicating delivery of the multicast message to a corresponding receiving communication system for each said recipient, and a read status update message for each of the plurality of recipients indicating that the multicast message delivered to the corresponding receiving communication system was read at said corresponding receiving communication system; means adapted to provide a delivery notification for each of the plurality of recipients, once a delivery status update message for said recipient has been received; and means adapted to provide a read notification for each of the plurality of recipients, once a read status update message for said recipient has been received.

In another aspect, the means adapted to detect transmission and said means adapted to detect receipt are each configured to monitor a message queue for said multicast message and said inbound message.

In still another aspect, said means adapted to detect transmission and said means adapted to detect receipt are each configured to receive a notification for said multicast message and said inbound message from a messaging application executing at the communication system.

In yet another aspect, the means adapted to provide the delivery notification and the means adapted to provide the read notification are each configured to provide said notifications to the messaging application.

Still further, the communication system may comprise wireless communication means, wherein transmission of said multicast message, and outbound message notification, received message notification, and read message notification, and receipt of said inbound message, delivery status update message, and read status update message is carried out using said wireless communication means.

In another aspect, the communication system is comprised in a wireless communication device. Alternatively, the communication system comprises one or more servers. Still further, the communication system may communicate with said status service over a wide area network. In yet a further aspect, the multicast message and the inbound message are instant messages.

There is also provided a communication system, comprising: at least one data store for storing messages; a communications module for transmitting a multicast message for delivery to a plurality of recipients and for receiving an inbound message; and one or more processors in communication with said at least one data store and said communications module, the one or more processors being configured to execute a status agent adapted to: detect transmission of the multicast message; detect receipt of the inbound message; detect when the inbound message has been read at the communication system; initiate transmission of, for receipt by a status service, an outbound message notification for said multicast message once transmission is detected, a received message notification said inbound message once receipt is detected, and a read message notification for said inbound message once detected as being read; receive, via the communications module from the status service, a delivery status update message for each of a plurality of recipients indicating delivery of the multicast message to a corresponding receiving communication device for each said recipient, and a read status update message for each of the plurality of recipients indicating that the multicast message delivered to the corresponding receiving communication device was read at said corresponding receiving communication device; provide a delivery notification for each of the plurality of recipients, once a delivery status update message for said recipient has been received; and provide a read notification for each of the plurality of recipients, once a read status update message for said recipient has been received.

In another aspect, the status agent is adapted to detect transmission and detect receipt by monitoring a message queue for said multicast message and said inbound message. Alternatively, the status agent is adapted to detect transmission and detect receipt by receiving a notification for said multicast message and said inbound message from a messaging application executing at the communication system.

Further, the communications module may be a wireless communications module, and transmission of said one or more transmitted messages, outbound message notifications, received message notifications, and read message notifications, and receipt of said one or more received messages, delivery status update messages, and read status update messages is carried out using said wireless communications module.

The communication system may be comprised in a wireless communication device, or may be comprised in one or more servers. The communication system may communicate with said status service over a wide area network.

The embodiments described herein also provide a status service system for managing status notifications for multicast messages, the status service system comprising: means adapted to receive, over a network, an outbound message notification from a sending communication device for a multicast message addressed to a plurality of recipients; means adapted to receive, over the network, a received message notification from each of a plurality of receiving communication devices, each received message notification indicating receipt of the multicast message by a corresponding one of the plurality of recipients; means adapted to receive, over the network, a read message notification from each of the plurality of receiving communication devices, each read message notification indicating that the multicast message has been read by the corresponding one of the plurality of recipients; reconciliation means adapted to reconcile each of said received message notifications and each of said read message notifications with the outbound message notification to identify the sending communication device; means adapted to transmit, to the sending communication device, a delivery status update message for each of the plurality of recipients once a received message notification for said recipient has been received; and means adapted to transmit, to the sending communication device, a read status update message for each of the plurality of recipients once a read message notification for said recipient has been received.

In one aspect, the status service further comprises registration means adapted to register the sending communication device and each one of the plurality of receiving communication devices with the status service system.

There is also provided a status service system for managing status notifications for multicast messages, the status service system comprising: at least one data store configured to store outbound message notification data; a communication subsystem configured to communicate over a network; and one or more processors in communication with the at least one data store and the communication subsystem, the one or more processors being configured to: receive, using the communication subsystem, an outbound message notification from a sending communication device for a multicast message addressed to a plurality of recipients; receive, using the communication subsystem, a received message notification from each of a plurality of receiving communication devices, each received message notification indicating receipt of the multicast message by a corresponding one of the plurality of recipients; receive, using the communication subsystem, a read message notification from each of the plurality of receiving communication devices, each read message notification indicating that the multicast message has been read by the corresponding one of the plurality of recipients; reconcile each of said received message notifications and each of said read message notifications with the outbound message notification to identify the sending communication device; transmit to the sending communication device, using the communication subsystem, a delivery status update message for each of the plurality of recipients once a received message notification for said recipient has been received; and transmit to the sending communication device, using the communication subsystem, a read status update message for each of the plurality of recipients once a read message notification for said recipient has been received. The processor may be further configured to register the sending communication device and each one of the plurality of receiving communication devices with the status service system.

There is also provided a system for transmission and receipt of messages, the system comprising a sending communication device comprising the communication system as described herein; a plurality of receiving communication devices each comprising the communication system as described herein, each of the plurality of receiving communication devices being configured to receive messages from the sending communication device via a messaging infrastructure; and the status service system as described herein, the status service system being configured to communicate with the sending communication device and each one of the plurality of receiving communication devices. In one aspect, the status service system is separate from the messaging infrastructure.

There is further provided a method of managing status notifications for multicast messages, the method comprising: receiving, over a network, an outbound message notification from a sending communication device for a multicast message addressed to a plurality of recipients; receiving, over the network, a received message notification from each of a plurality of receiving communication devices, each received message notification indicating receipt of the multicast message by a corresponding one of the plurality of recipients; receiving, over the network, a read message notification from each of the plurality of receiving communication devices, each read message notification indicating that the multicast message has been read by the corresponding one of the plurality of recipients; reconciling each of said received message notifications and each of said read message notifications with the outbound message notification to identify the sending communication device; transmitting, to the sending communication device, a delivery status update message for each of the plurality of recipients once a received message notification for said recipient has been received; and transmitting, to the sending communication device, a read status update message for each of the plurality of recipients once a read message notification for said recipient has been received. In a further aspect, the method further provides for registering the sending communication device and each one of the plurality of receiving communication devices with the status service system.

In the embodiments described herein, the outbound message notification comprises a message identifier and a sender identifier for the multicast message. Further, the multicast message, the inbound message, or both, are instant messages. Still further, the sending communication device and any receiving communication device may be a wireless communication device.

The systems and methods disclosed herein are presented only by way of example and are not meant to limit the scope of the subject matter described herein. Other variations of the systems and methods described above will be apparent to those in the art and as such are considered to be within the scope of the subject matter described herein. For example, it should be understood that steps and the order of the steps in the processing described herein may be altered, modified and/or augmented and still achieve the desired outcome. Throughout the specification, terms such as “may” and “can” are used interchangeably and use of any particular term should not be construed as limiting the scope or requiring experimentation to implement the claimed subject matter or embodiments described herein.

The systems' and methods' data may be stored in one or more data stores. The data stores can be of many different types of storage devices and programming constructs, such as RAM, ROM, flash memory, programming data structures, programming variables, etc. It is noted that data structures describe formats for use in organizing and storing data in databases, programs, memory, or other computer-readable media for use by a computer program.

Code adapted to provide the systems and methods described above may be provided on many different types of computer-readable media including computer storage mechanisms (e.g., CD-ROM, diskette, RAM, flash memory, computer's hard drive, etc.) that contain instructions for use in execution by a processor to perform the methods' operations and implement the systems described herein.

The computer components, software modules, functions and data structures described herein may be connected directly or indirectly to each other in order to allow the flow of data needed for their operations. Various functional units described herein have been expressly or implicitly described as modules and agents, in order to more particularly emphasize their independent implementation and operation. It is also noted that an agent, module or processor includes but is not limited to a unit of code that performs a software operation, and can be implemented for example as a subroutine unit of code, or as a software function unit of code, or as an object (as in an object-oriented paradigm), or as an applet, or in a computer script language, or as another type of computer code. The various functional units may be implemented in hardware circuits comprising custom VLSI circuits or gate arrays; field-programmable gate arrays; programmable array logic; programmable logic devices; commercially available logic chips, transistors, and other such components. Modules implemented as software for execution by a processor or processors may comprise one or more physical or logical blocks of code that may be organized as one or more of objects, procedures, or functions. The modules need not be physically located together, but may comprise code stored in different locations, such as over several memory devices, capable of being logically joined for execution. Modules may also be implemented as combinations of software and hardware, such as a processor operating on a set of operational data or instructions.

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains material which is or may be subject to one or more of copyright, design patent, industrial design, or unregistered design protection. The rightsholder has no objection to the reproduction of any such material as portrayed herein through facsimile reproduction of the patent document or patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all rights whatsoever. 

The invention claimed is:
 1. A status service system for managing status notifications for multicast messages, the status service system comprising: at least one data store configured to store outbound message notification data; a communication subsystem configured to communicate over a network; and one or more processors in communication with the at least one data store and the communication subsystem, the one or more processors being configured to: receive, using the communication subsystem, an outbound message notification from a sending communication device for a multicast message addressed to a plurality of recipients; receive, using the communication subsystem, a received message notification from each of a plurality of receiving communication devices, each received message notification indicating receipt of the multicast message by a corresponding one of the plurality of recipients; receive, using the communication subsystem, a read message notification from each of the plurality of receiving communication devices, each read message notification indicating that the multicast message has been read by the corresponding one of the plurality of recipients; reconcile each of said received message notifications and each of said read message notifications with the outbound message notification to identify the sending communication device; transmit to the sending communication device, using the communication subsystem, a delivery status update message for each of the plurality of recipients once a received message notification for said recipient has been received; and transmit to the sending communication device, using the communication subsystem, a read status update message for each of the plurality of recipients once a read message notification for said recipient has been received.
 2. The status service system of claim 1, wherein the multicast message is an instant message.
 3. A method of managing status notifications for multicast messages, the method comprising: receiving, over a network, an outbound message notification from a sending communication device for a multicast message addressed to a plurality of recipients; receiving, over the network, a received message notification from each of a plurality of receiving communication devices, each received message notification indicating receipt of the multicast message by a corresponding one of the plurality of recipients; receiving, over the network, a read message notification from each of the plurality of receiving communication devices, each read message notification indicating that the multicast message has been read by the corresponding one of the plurality of recipients; reconciling each of said received message notifications and each of said read message notifications with the outbound message notification to identify the sending communication device; transmitting, to the sending communication device, a delivery status update message for each of the plurality of recipients once a received message notification for said recipient has been received; and transmitting, to the sending communication device, a read status update message for each of the plurality of recipients once a read message notification for said recipient has been received.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the multicast message is an instant message.
 5. The method of claim 3, further comprising registering the sending communication device and each one of the plurality of receiving communication devices with the status service system. 